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Cross-cultural Assessment of a Short Scale to Measure Employees’ Company Reputation-Related Social Media Competence

Author

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  • Gianfranco Walsh

    (Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena)

  • Mario Schaarschmidt

    (University of Koblenz-Landau)

  • Lefa Teng

    (University of Guelph)

Abstract

Anything employees post on social media is in the public domain, where it can cause reputational damage to the company. As social media use continues to grow worldwide, employees’ imprudent social media uses appear to be on the rise. This article provides an assessment of the Walsh et al. (J Interact Mark 36:46–59, 2016) scale to measure employees’ company reputation-related social media competence (RSMC), which comprises five dimensions: technical competence, visibility awareness competence, knowledge competence, impact assessment competence, and social media communication competence. This research presents and assesses an abbreviated version of the RSMC scale which is some 40% shorter than the original 21-item scale, using data from three culturally distinct countries—Germany, China, and the United States. The findings suggest that the RSMC short scale is valid in all three national contexts, achieves partial metric invariance, and has equivalent predictive validity. The discussion outlines some implications for both managers and researchers.

Suggested Citation

  • Gianfranco Walsh & Mario Schaarschmidt & Lefa Teng, 2020. "Cross-cultural Assessment of a Short Scale to Measure Employees’ Company Reputation-Related Social Media Competence," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(2), pages 78-91, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:crepre:v:23:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1057_s41299-019-00076-y
    DOI: 10.1057/s41299-019-00076-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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