Harzing, Anne-Wil and Baldueza, Joyce and Barner-Rasmussen, Wilhelm and Barzantny, Cordula and Canabal, Anne and Davila, Anabella and Espejo, Alvaro and Ferreira, Rita and Giroud, Axele and Koester, Katrin and Liang, Yung-Kuei and Mockaitis, Audra and Morley, Michael J. and Myloni, Barbara and Odusanya, Joseph O.T. and Leiba O’Sullivan, Sharon and Kumar Palaniappan, Ananda and Prochno, Paulo and Choudhury, Srabani Roy and Saka-Helmhout, Ayse and Siengthai, Sununta and Viswat, Linda and Uzuncarsili Soydas, Ayda and Zander, Lena
(2009)
Rating versus ranking: What is the best way to reduce response and
language bias in cross-national research?
International Business Review, 18 (4).
pp. 417-432.
ISSN 0969-5931
Abstract
Wepropose solutions to two recurring problems in cross-national research: response style
differences and language bias. In order to do so, we conduct a methodological comparison
of two different response formats—rating and ranking. For rating, we assess the effect of
changing the commonly used 5-point Likert scales to 7-point Likert scales. For ranking, we
evaluate the validity of presenting respondents with short scenarios for which they need
to rank their top 3 solutions. Our results – based on two studies of 1965 undergraduate and
1714 MBA students in 16 different countries – confirm our hypotheses that both solutions
reduce response and language bias, but show that ranking generally is a superior solution.
These findings allow researchers to have greater confidence in the validity of crossnational
differences if these response formats are used, instead of the more traditional 5-
point Likert scales. In addition, our findings have several practical implications for
multinational corporations, relating to issues such as selection interviews, performance
appraisals, and cross-cultural training.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Cross-national research;
Research methods;
Response style differences;
Language bias;
Survey research; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business |
| Item ID: |
11208 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2009.03.001 |
| Depositing User: |
Audra Mockaitis
|
| Date Deposited: |
09 Oct 2019 16:32 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
International Business Review |
| Publisher: |
Elsevier |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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