Customer Experience Scale

Abstract

The Customer Experience Scale (CE Scale) is an original psychological inventory developed by Verma and Kaur in 2023. Its primary function is to rigorously assess the multifaceted nature of customer experience specifically within the competitive context of banking services. The scale was created as part of a larger research effort examining the complex interplay between customer experience dimensions, bank image, and customer trust in a multichannel banking environment.

The development methodology included adapting existing measures and undergoing initial content validation via expert review. Subsequent pilot testing among multichannel banking customers in Amritsar and Mohali, India, helped refine the instrument. The final CE Scale consists of 23 items organized across six distinct dimensions and is available for use in both traditional branch banking and electronic banking settings. The foundational study established the instrument’s strong factor structure, internal reliability, and statistical validity.

Keywords

Customer Experience, Electronic Banking, Branch Banking, Affective Negative, Cognitive, Affective Positive, Social, Behavioral, Sensory, Consumer Attitudes, Consumer Behavior, Consumer Satisfaction, Perceptual Stimulation, Negative Emotions, Positive Emotions, Consumer Measures

Authors

Verma, Nidhi; Kaur, Mandeep

Purpose

The CE Scale was specifically constructed to measure the holistic customer experience (CE) encountered by individuals interacting with banking institutions. The scale provides a standardized measure capable of differentiating between the experiences provided through physical bank branches and those delivered through digital channels, addressing the growing need for nuanced assessment in a multichannel banking landscape.

Beyond simple satisfaction, the instrument aims to capture the cognitive, affective, behavioral, and sensory responses of customers, allowing researchers and practitioners to understand how these dimensions influence related outcomes, such as bank image and customer trust.

Construct

The CE Scale measures the psychological construct of Customer Experience, conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct comprising six distinct factors. These dimensions capture the full spectrum of a customer’s interaction with the bank, moving beyond mere transactional metrics to include emotional and sensory elements. The six measured dimensions are:

• Affective Negative: Captures negative emotional responses (e.g., anger, impatience) during banking interactions.
• Cognitive: Measures mental engagement, focus, and problem-solving encouraged by the service environment.
• Affective Positive: Assesses positive emotional states (e.g., happiness, feeling welcomed).
• Social: Reflects the customer’s sense of community and their perceived relationship with bank staff and other customers.
• Behavioral: Monitors active customer behaviors related to finance management, comparison, and information seeking.
• Sensory: Evaluates the customer’s perceptions regarding the physical or digital environment’s appeal to their senses.

Validity

The validity of the CE Scale was established using multiple rigorous psychometric techniques.

Content Validity: Initial content validity was ensured during the development stage. The survey questionnaire was subjected to review and refinement by field experts, guaranteeing that the items adequately represented the domain of customer experience within the banking sector.

Convergent and Discriminant Validity: Structural validation was performed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Convergent validity was supported as the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values for all six dimensions surpassed established threshold limits. Furthermore, Discriminant Validity was confirmed by ensuring that the Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT) values remained below the prescribed cutoff of 0.90, as recommended in established literature (Dijkstra and Henseler, 2015). This confirms that the constructs are distinct from one another.

Reliability

The reliability of the CE Scale was assessed through measures of internal consistency for both the branch and electronic banking versions of the instrument.

Internal Consistency: The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency, as evidenced by high values across three key metrics: Cronbach’s alpha, Rho_A, and Composite Reliability (CR). All reported values exceeded the benchmark of 0.70 across the factors, indicating that the items within each dimension reliably measure the same underlying construct.

Factor Analysis

The factor structure of the CE Scale was examined through both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA): EFA was conducted and revealed a robust 5-factor solution for both the branch and electronic banking versions of the scale. These solutions accounted for 68.247% and 67.164% of the total variance explained, respectively, suggesting a strong underlying structure, although the initial theoretical framework proposed 6 dimensions.

Common Method Bias: The potential influence of common method bias was assessed using Harman’s single-factor test. By constraining the factor extraction to one, the Total Variance Explained (TVE) was calculated to be 31.278% for the branch version and 32.056% for the electronic banking version. Since both values are significantly less than the critical threshold of 50% (Podsakoff et al., 2003), the study concluded that common method bias was not a significant concern for the instrument’s validity.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Items are rated using a 7-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human; Male; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older), including Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), and Middle Age (40-64 years).

Population Details: Respondents are banking customers located in India, providing context-specific data for multichannel banking research.

Test Methodology: The development and validation involved Test Validity, Content Validity, Convergent Validity, Discriminant Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Electronic Banking, Branch Banking, Customer Experience, Affective Negative, Cognitive, Affective Positive, Social, Behavioral, Sensory, Psychometrics, Scale Development

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

Verma, Nidhi: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3471-1081

Kaur, Mandeep: No data is Available

Affiliation Email addresses:

Verma, Nidhi: Guru Nanak Dev University, University School of Financial Studies; [email protected]

Kaur, Mandeep: Guru Nanak Dev University, University School of Financial Studies

Correspondence Address:

Verma, Nidhi: Guru Nanak Dev University, University School of Financial Studies, Amritsar, India, 143005, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Publisher

Fee: No

Test Year: 2023

Commercial: No

Reference’s

Verma, N., & Kaur, M. (2023). Examining the relationship among customer experience, bank image, and trust: A multichannel banking perspective. Journal of Global Marketing, 36(2), 141–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2023.2188508

Items of the Customer Experience Scale

Number of Items: Both versions of the CE scale include 23 items.

Factors and Subscales: The CE Scale comprises 6 dimensions (factors):

• Affective Negative

• Cognitive

• Affective Positive

• Social

• Behavioral

• Sensory

Test Items Availability: Yes, test items are available.

Test Location: 2023-59152-001, Table 3, Page 153; 2023-59152-001, Table 4, Page 153.

Factor 1: Affective Negative

• I feel angry.

• I get impatient.

• I feel disappointed.

• I get bored.

Factor 2: Cognitive

• I engage in a lot of thinking when I visit the Bank.

• My attention is captured while using the services.

• I am really focused while using the services.

• The Bank’s Branch encourages my curiosity and problem-solving ability.

Factor 3: Affective Positive

• I feel wonderful.

• I feel welcomed.

• I feel happy.

Factor 4: Social

• I identify myself with other customers of the Bank.

• I feel as a part of customers community of the Bank.

• I develop relationships (share/ ask/ receive the opinion or interact) with the Bank staff.

• I live a pleasant social experience while using Branch’s Banking services.

Factor 5: Behavioral

• I usually compare the Bank’s products and services.

• I take an active part in the management of my personal finances.

• I search for information about new products and services.

• I generally review my bank account.

Factor 6: Sensory

• The Branch allures/ attracts my senses.

• The Branch makes strong impression on my visual senses or other senses.

• The Bank’s Branch does not appeal to my senses.

• My senses are involved while using services.