The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model:A Framework to Assist Doctoral Students in LinkingTheory and Empirical Research

John E. Swan and Warren S. Martin

An important goal of doctoral education in marketing is to prepare students to plan andconduct original research, which requires skills in integrating philosophy of scienceconcepts concerning theory, the application of empirical research methods, andunderstanding a substantive topic. Often these skills are taught in separate courses. Theauthors address this problem by proposing a theory-setting-testable hypothesis model as anaid for doctoral students. They discuss the three-step process of developing theoreticallylinked hypotheses and its utilization in a philosophy of science seminar.

Afundamental goal of doctoral training in marketing isto prepare students to undertake original researchthat makes a contribution to marketing knowledge,

that is, advancing theoretical understanding of phenomenathat are within the domain of marketing. The student mustdevelop an understanding of both marketing theory and howtheory can be tested in an empirical study. Toward that end,marketing education at the doctoral level often includesseminars in research methods, philosophy of science, andsubstantive topics. However, it has been our experience thatdoctoral students find it difficult to integrate "research meth-ods" and "philosophy of science" perspectives and developa theoretically grounded research proposal to investigate asubstantive topic. Our purpose is to present a framework thatwe have used successfully to help doctoral students leamhow to (1) tie theory to empirical research and (2) identifyopportunities for further research. In addition, some of theproblems that our framework treats can be found in recentlypublished research, so the framework may be of value tosome experienced researchers as a reminder of points tocover.

This article covers (1) the problem of gaining skills inintegrating theory, method, and research topics; (2) a three-step model; and (3) how the model has been incorporated ina doctoral seminar. It is important to note that our modeldraws from the realist approach to the philosophy of science(Hunt 1991). However, the seminar in which the model isemployed does provide an introduction to qualitative/ethno-graphic research.

JOHN E. SWAN is a Professor of Marketing and Health ServicesAdministration, and WARREN S. MARTIN is a Professor ofMarketing, Department of Marketing, The University of Alabamaat Birmingham. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistanceof two anonymous reviewers, the section editor, and Raymond W.LaForge for their insightful and constructive comments on an ear-lier version of this article.

Roots of the Problem: The Integration GapThe problem experienced by doctoral students in bridgingtheory, a substantive topic, and empirical research is rootedin the difficult task of achieving congruence between theo-ry, topic, and method. Essentially, the doctoral student facesthe task of finding a research topic that integrates threeessential components: (1) an empirical phenomena, such assalesperson turnover; (2) a theoretical explanation of thephenomena; and (3) some hypotheses derived from the the-oretical material that can be tested empirically. Each of thethree components just mentioned are treated extensively inarticles and text material, but usually not in an integratedfashion or in a form that is easy for doctoral students tounderstand. The integration gap must be closed by market-ing educators. However, the literature on marketing educa-tion does not offer a treatment of how the integration gapcan be closed. The main purpose of this article is to presenta theory-setting-testable hypothesis (abbreviated as theory-setting-test) model for closing the gap and providing mar-keting educators with some ideas that we hope will be use-ful in solving the integration problem. To develop the inte-gration gap, we give an overview of it, followed by a brieftreatment of why doctoral students' exposure to the existingliterature does not seem to be a completely effective meansof teaching integration skills.

Works on the philosophy of science and empiricalresearch in marketing have made it clear that theory, topic,measurement, and method are all part of a holistic researchprocess (Bagozzi 1984; Brinberg and McGrath 1985).However, closing some gaps between those components isdifficult. As an example, Bagozzi (1984) has noted that theconceptual meaning of a term in a theory, such as sourcecredibility, should correspond with its empirical meaning ormeasurement. If the conceptual meaning of a term is notclearly reflected in its empirical meaning, an integration gaphas occurred. Our concept of an integration gap refers to anylack of congruence between elements of theory, the researchsetting, and a hypothesis used to test empirically a relation-ship between variables drawn from the theory. To help closepossible integration gaps, a research article should contain a

Marketing Education Review Vol. 4 (Fall 1994), 2-15

Marketing Education Review

number of items (see Table 1), which are explicated in moredetail as we present our framework.

We believe that the integration gap is rooted in a combi-nation of the instructional material available to doctoral stu-dents and the organization of doctoral courses and masterslevel professional education. Text material and the market-ing literature on the philosophy of science and researchmethods are relevant to obtaining theoretically linkedtestable hypotheses, but neither source is complete.Philosophy of science is pertinent but not sufficient to theo-ry-hypothesis linkage for two basic reasons: First, the phi-losophy of science is a very broad topic and procedures thatare especially helpful for hypotheses development areincluded within more general topics (Hunt 1983, 1991;Zaltman, LeMasters, and Heffering 1982; Zaltman, Pinsonand Angelmar 1973) and second, a major emphasis in suchworks (see Anderson 1983; Hunt 1991) is on what philoso-phy of science is most appropriate for marketing and logicalcriteria for metatheory (theory of theory), rather than linkingtheory to hypotheses.

Some works in the literature (Bagozzi 1984; Brinberg andMcGrath 1985; Hunt 1991) are concerned with the need tointegrate theory, topic, and method and are importantsources in terms of several considerations toward that end.However, it has been our experience that those and similar

sources are difficult for students to follow because they lacka set of relatively straightforward guidelines. Bagozzi(1984) does stress the need for the integration of theory andmethod, but he does not cover in much detail how aresearcher can move from step to step, as does the theory-setting-test model. Brinberg and McGrath (1985) discussresearch as a holistic process, but to simplify their presenta-tion, they discuss the steps of research as separate "units."We address the overlap between steps. The process of devel-oping theories, propositions, and testable hypotheses is quitecomplex, and as a result the theory-setting-test model ishelpful when used as a supplement to, not a substitute for,other treatments of theory and research.

Research methods is a second stream of literature that cancontribute to integrating theory and hypotheses. A majorlimitation of such material is that works on research tech-niques concentrate almost all their attention on testinghypotheses in isolation from the theory that served as afoundation for the hypotheses. An example of a researchmethod topic that is essential to hypotheses development ismeasurement and scale construction. Churchill (1979)makes the major point that the operational measure must beconsistent with the theoretical construct that it is designed tomeasure.

Table 1.

Substeps

TST Model: Theory-Setting-Testable

Step 1. Theory

Examples/Detail

Identify theoretical statement

Define concepts

Specify the linkage between concepts, how the concepts are related

State the theoretical linkage or explanation

Test the explanatory process using partial formalization

As extrinsic job satisfaction (X) decreases, job seeking (Y) increases

Extrinsic satisfaction includes the following characteristics (domain)and excludes the following characteristics (distinction)

Negative Linkage: As satisfaction decreases, job seeking increases

Tell why decreasing extrinsic job satisfaction results in job seeking

To check that the set of explanatory statements are logically consistent

Step 2. Setting and Proposition

Substeps Examples/Details

The setting: Industrial sales

Ladder of abstraction—domain of the concepts can range from thegeneral to the specific setting

As the extrinsic job satisfaction of industrial salespeople decreas-es, the salesperson is more likely to take steps to leam of othersales jobs that offer more material rewards

Workers' extrinsic job satisfaction

Salesworkers' extrinsic satisfaction

Industrial salesworkers extrinsic satisfaction

Step 3. Testable Hypothesis

Substeps Examples/Details

Operational definitions—measurements of concepts

Bridge laws—tie the setting specific concepts to the theoreticalconcepts

Consistency of operational linkage and statistical test

Domain should be consistent between theoretical statement andhypothesis

Extrinsic job satisfaction measure—pay component of INDSALES

The pay component of INDSALES is within the domain of the the-oretical concept

The operational linkage should be the same for theory, proposition,and hypothesis. The linkages are negative and direct.

Since intrinsic job satisfaction is a boundary condition, only sales-people who are intrinsically satisfied fall within the domain.

The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model

Readings on major areas of inquiry in marketing, such asconsumer behavior or marketing channels, constitute a thirdsource of knowledge from which the doctoral student candraw in developing a dissertation research proposal. A limi-tation of substantive works in terms of learning how to inte-grate theory and research is that the "conceptual essay" doesnot include research methods and the typically empiricalreport only presents a discussion of the specific researchmethods that were used. Usually, philosophy of scienceideas remain implicit. As an example, the conceptual andempirical meanings of terms should be congruent, and thatcan be aided by careful definition at both the conceptual andempirical levels. Different types of definitions are discussedin works on the philosophy of science (Hunt 1991).However, such considerations are typically absent from sub-stantive articles and would not even be considered appropri-ate for most empirical articles.

The divisions between theory, method, and substantivetopics noted here are, we believe, reflected in the content ofdoctoral level courses. In a recent effort to plan a seminar,we contacted a number of schools with well-recognizeddoctoral programs and requested syllabi for both substanfiveand philosophy of science courses. The divisions we discussseem evident. It is certainly possible that the faculty closesthe gaps over a series of seminars. However, a seminar thataddresses the issues that our model covers could help devel-op essential integration skills earlier in the doctoralprogram.

Two lines of evidence—doctoral work and our experiencewith doctoral students—suggest that our framework couldbe useful. First, some of the gaps addressed in our model canbe found in published research. The need to ground researchin theory is well documented, as are repeated calls for mar-keting researchers to do so (Bagozzi 1984; Malhotra 1988).Reiterated calls by tbe editors of the two most prominentjournals in marketing to ground research in theory suggeststhat some researchers are failing to do so (Kinner 1991,1992; Weitz 1992). Finally, we have served as reviewers fora number of years, and a frequent reason for rejection ofmanuscripts is that the empirical research lacked clear inte-gration with a theoretical base.

Experience with doctoral students also points to a needfor the framework. In our institution, several students haveremarked that they had difficulty in seminars taken beforeexposure to our model because the faculty seemed to assumethat they had a basic understanding of "theory." Most of ourincoming students have completed a professional master'sprogram, such as a master's of business administration, andstudents find that our model helps in making the transitionin thinking from viewing topics from a professional to anacademic perspective. Early in our seminar, many studentsfind that the material is quite difficult, but gain skills overthe term.

In summary, the marketing educator must assist doctoralstudents in learning how to bridge the philosophy of science,empirical methods, and a substanfive topic. Next, tbe theo-ry-setting-test framework is presented as a model for themarkefing educator to use as a resource in closing the inte-grafion gap.

Overview of the Theory-Setting-TestFramework for Hypotheses DevelopmentThe development of theory-linked hypotheses can bethought of as involving three basic steps: (1) theory and pre-dictions, (2) setting and propositions, and (3) testablehypotheses and measurement (see Table 1). First theresearcher reviews the theoretical literature and priorresearch on the topic and derives a set of predictions to betested empirically. Second, a setting is envisioned in whichthe researcher can observe the variables and processes. Inthe setfing, the theorefical predictions are expressed as spe-cific propositions. Third, operational meastires are obtainedfor concepts in the propositions. Operational definifionsmake it possible to specify testable hypothesis that logicallyrelate the theory to empirical observafions. The theory-set-fing-test framework has been used in this arficle to organizethe process of hypotheses development. The framework is alogical reconstruction of the research process; not allresearchers would use the sequence of steps presented here.

The T Step: Theoretical Statementsand PredictionThe heart of a theory is a set of interrelated theorefical state-ments. In its most basic form, a theoretical statement speci-fies that an independent variable (X) is related to a depen-dent variable (Y) (Hunt 1991). The theory seeks to providean explanafion of why some phenomena are consequencesof the independent variable included in the theory. As an ini-fial step, the student is advised to search the literature on atopic of interest for statements linking an independent vari-able to a dependent variable. Once a theoretical statementhas been found, it can serve as a basis for a predicfion thatthe independent variable (X) will be related to the dependentvariable (Y). A theory can contain theoretical statementsthat relate more than two variables; however, for simplicity'ssake we have selected a single independent/dependent vari-able form to present the theory-setfing-test framework.

Identification of Theoretical StatementsTo illustrate tbe theory to prediction process, assume a stu-dent was interested in voluntary sales force turnover. Priorresearch has found that as job safisfaction decreased,turnover increased (see Table 1). But the studies failed todisfinguish between salespeople who were dissatisfied withsales as an occupation compared with those who were dis-safisfied with some aspect of their sales job. Theory suggeststhat job satisfacfion is composed of two major components:(1) intrinsic safisfaction with self-bestowed rewards fromthe work itself and (2) extrinsic safisfaction with externallybestowed rewards such as pay and other benefits (Churchill,Ford, and Walker 1974). The student reasons that intrinsi-cally satisfied workers who were dissatisfied with extrinsicrewards would seek other employment in sales. On the otherhand, intrinsically dissafisfied workers would attempt tochange occupadons. The following theorefical statementwould be derived: If a worker is intrinsically satisfied, asextrinsic job satisfaction decreases (X), the worker isincreasingly likely to seek another job in the same occupa-fion (Y).

Marketing Education Review

It may seem that the student has formed a hypothesis andthe task remaining would be to design the empirical part ofthe study. However, to ensure that the hypotheses are inte-grated with the theoretical statement, several steps can betaken.

A major theme of this article is that a number of integra-tion problems can occur that weaken the theory-hypothesislinkage. We use the literature on service quality to show thatintegration problems can be found in published research. Asa cautionary note, service quality has been selected onlybecause it has been used in our seminar. Our remarks are notoffered as a critique of any of the studies mentioned; thattask is beyond the scope of this article. In addition, althoughthe inclusion of the items that are discussed can generallystrengthen a research effort, it could well be counterproduc-tive to place undue emphasis on always including each item.In the early stages of research on a new topic, some of theitems may not have been developed.

Components of the Theoretical StatementRecognition of three components of theoretical statements isuseful. First, the concepts should be defined. Second, theform of the relationship should be noted—for example, asextrinsic satisfaction decreases, the likelihood of seekinganother job increases. Third, the theoretical linkage—that is,why the concepts are positioned to be related—should beidentified (see 'Table 1).

Definitions of ConceptsA theoretical statement relates X to Y where the X (extrin-sic job satisfaction) and Y are concepts and provide the basicbuilding blocks of theories. A concept abstracts and groupstogether certain characteristics or properties of objects orthings (Osigweh 1989; Zaltman, Pinson, and Angelmar1973). Concept formation is a difficult task because an idealconcept would be both a universal concept, applicable toevery situation in which the concept can be found, and a pre-cise one (Osigweh 1989). As an example, a theoretical defi-nition of the domain of job satisfaction is the following: "allcharacteristics of the job itself and the work environmentthat industrial sales[people] find rewarding, fulfilling, andsatisfying or frustrating and unsatisfying" (Churchill, Ford,and Walker 1974). Theoretical concepts are open to differentoperational definitions that can be used to measure the con-cept. An explicit theoretical definition of the concept isneeded to convey its meaning and facilitate measurement(Hage 1972).

Concept formulation can be accomplished by consideringthe extension and connotation of a concept. The extension isthe class of things to which the concept applies. A broadextension of job satisfaction could have it apply to any typeof work—paid, unpaid, white collar, blue collar, profession-al, and so on. The connotation or domain of the concept isthe set of characteristics that anything must possess to bedenoted by the term. The connotation of job satisfactionoffered by Churchill, Ford, and Walker (1974) is broad,because all characteristics of the job and work environmentthat are found by the salesperson to be satisfying or dissat-isfying are included.

A suggestion for concept formation made by Osigweh(1989) is to define a concept by specifying what it is not. As

an example, consider the need for a distinction between jobsatisfaction and role conflict. Role conflict is when a sales-person believes that the role demands from role set membersare incompatible (Churchill, Ford, and Walker 1990). Roleconflict can have negative consequences for the salesperson;thus it would be helpful to distinguish role conflict from thenegative feelings of job satisfaction. An explicit statementthat job satisfaction excludes role conflict would help definejob satisfaction.

In summary, concepts are the building blocks of theories.A formal definition of important concepts in the theoryfacilitates understanding and measurement. The connotationor domain of each concept, that is, what phenomena the con-cept includes, should be explicitly stated. Also, what theconcept excludes, that is, the distinction between relatedconcepts, can help achieve precision. Finally, the extensionof a theoretical concept should be a universal concept, thatis, apply to numerous settings.

Written Definition of ConceptsA written theoretical definition is an important tool for link-ing theory and hypotheses. Basically, measures of the con-cept in the hypothesis must be part of the domain of the con-cept and clear specification of the domain is a first step inobtaining valid and reliable measures (Churchill 1979).Another reason for developing an explicit theoretical defini-tion is that a modification in the definition can suggest newhypotheses and opportunities for research. As an example,Cronin and Taylor (1992) redefine service quality as an atti-tude based on performance, compared with Parasuraman,Zeithaml, and Berry's (1988) definition of service quality asperformance minus expectations. Cronin and Taylor (1992)test a new hypothesis that overall service quality increasesas perfonnance increases, in contrast to Parasuraman,Zeithaml, and Berry's (1988) hypothesis that service qualityincreases as performance exceeds expectations. Conceptsshould be defined—however, although satisfaction was animportant construct in Cronin and Taylor's (1992) servicequality study, a definition of satisfaction was not provided.Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) did define servicequality as "the consumer's judgment about an entity's over-all excellence or superiority" (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, andBerry 1988, p. 15).

Linkages Between ConceptsThe theoretical statement "As extrinsic satisfaction decreas-es, seeking another job is likely to increase" states a rela-tionship or linkage between satisfaction and job search.Hage (1972) has suggested that two types of linkages areimportant: (1) the operational linkage, how the concepts arerelated, and (2) the theoretical linkage, why the concepts areexpected to be related.

The example theoretical statement can be written as fol-lows: X ^ Y, where X is extrinsic satisfaction and Y is jobseeking. In this example, the theoretical and operationallinkages are both negative. In addition to direction (positiveversus negative), a more specific operational linkage couldspecify the mathematical form of the relationship, such aslinear, curvilinear, and so on. The form of the relationshipcan sometimes be determined by plotting the data from prior

The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model

research or by careful consideration of the theoreticalmodel.

The operational linkage can be a possible source ofhypotheses because if the linkage is not clear, then researchto clarify the relationships could be conducted. A secondresearch possibility can arise from the usual assumption inmarketing that the relationship between concepts is linear. Itis possible that some relationships may be linear only with-in a limited range. The researcher is more likely to fmd anunderlying nonlinear relationship if that possibility is inves-tigated. If a nonlinear relationship is a possibility, the asso-ciated operational linkage should reflect that form.

The operational linkage, how the independent variable isrelated to the dependent variable, should be clearly speci-fied. Cronin and Taylor (1992) did not do so, as illustratedby one of their propositions: "Consumer satisfaction has asignificant impact on purchase intentions." Implicitly, theirmodel assumed a positive direct linear relationship betweensatisfaction and intentions.

The theoretical statement "As extrinsic satisfactiondecreases (X), job seeking is likely to increase (Y)" relatesconcepts, but understanding is deepened if theory can indi-cate why the concepts are expected to be related (Zaltman,Pinson, and Angelmar 1973); the why involves explanation.

Explanation can be treated analytically by considering thecontent and type. Content refers to the processes that oper-ate so that X is linked to Y. The type of explanation refers toa formal classification of the scientific generalization, forexample, deterministic or probabilistic, that provides thephilosophical foundation for the explanation (Hunt 1991).

The processes linking X to Y, or the content of an expla-nation, can often be found by searching for key words usedin providing an explanation. One may read that "X influ-ences Y," or "X influences Y by the process of..." (Hage1972).

According to Hunt (1991), the heart of an explanation isthat given certain conditions, the phenomenon could beexpected to occur. In marketing, most of our statements areprobabilistic and take the inductive statistical form: "If X,then Y is likely" (Hunt 1991). An explanation combines (1)facts of the situation so that the inductive statistical state-ment can be applied, (2) the statement "If X, then Y is like-ly," and (3) the expectation that Y will be observed. An illus-tration of an explanation for job seeking follows. First, thefacts of the situation are that a number of salespeople for acompany are satisfied with their sales work, but dissatisfiedwith their pay. Second, our theoretical statement was that asextrinsic satisfaction decreases, job seeking is likely toincrease. Third, the process linking extrinsic satisfaction andjob seeking is as follows: As extrinsic satisfaction with a jobdecreases, the worker is more likely to perceive that a prob-lem exists, and that perception motivates the worker tosearch for a solution to the problem. A possible solutionwould be another job that offers more extrinsic rewards—thus the worker is likely to search for a more extrinsicallyrewarding job. Finally, we would expect to observe that ahigher proportion of extrinsically dissatisfied, comparedwith satisfied, salespeople search for an alternative sales job.

An omission in some marketing articles is a treatment oftheoretical linkages. Such articles may provide an extensivediscussion of prior research that essentially says, "Y has

been found to be significantly related to X in a number ofstudies"; however, why Y and X could be expected to berelated is not discussed. That omission can be found inParasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry's (1988, p. 16) study,which quotes four studies in support of their assertion that"service quality, as perceived by consumers, stems from acomparison of what they feel service firms should offer (i.e.,from their expectations) with their perceptions of the per-formance of firms providing the services." However, anexplanation of why quality is determined by the comparisonof expectations to performance is not provided. In a laterarticle, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) provide anexplanation, as they argue that expectations serve as normsand norms function as standards "against which perfor-mance is compared."

Understanding can be advanced if the theoretical linkageor explanation is developed in some detail, but the ability todo so is limited. First, a complete account would involve aninfinite regression. If one explained that the perception of aproblem, insufficient extrinsic rewards, was likely to pro-vide motivation to seek an alternative job, then one wouldneed to explain why low extrinsic satisfaction would resultin a perception of a problem and so on. Second, currentknowledge may limit the depth of explanation. Determininghow far to go in terms of explaining in more detail can beapproached as follows. A basic goal of science is explana-tion (Hunt 1991). Specifying only the relationship betweentwo variables without an explanation would provide knowl-edge of an empirical regularity, which is of value. Providingan explanation for the relationship would advance knowl-edge (Zaltman, Pinson, and Angelmar 1973). However, aresearcher who has just discovered an empirical regularitymay not be able to offer an explanation. In summary, if aresearcher can develop the linkage in more detail, a signifi-cant contribution to the literature is more likely.

Providing an Explicit Theoretical StatementA research study should provide a clear, explicit theoreticalstatement, because it is the foundation for an empiricalstudy. That appears to be a problem in Parasuraman,Zeithaml, and Berry (1988). They test the implicit hypothe-sis that as perceptions exceed expectations (X), service qual-ity (Y) increases. The sentence in Parasuraman, Zeithamland Berry (1988, p. 17) that appears to serve as a theoreticalstatement reads, "Perceived service quality is thereforeviewed as the degree and discrepancy between consumers'perceptions and expectations." Without a explication of "thedegree and discrepancy," it would not be clear how qualitywas related to perceptions and expectations. A close readingof the entire article would make it possible to understandParasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988). A clear theoreti-cal statement was provided by Teas (1993) who wrote thatperceived service quality increases as the differencesbetween performance minus expectations increase acrossattributes.

Using Partial Formalization to Evaluate aTheoretical StructureAn important element of a theory is that the set of statementsforming the theory must be systematically related. A usefulprocess for checking the interrelationships among state-

Marketing Education Review

ments is partial formalization (Hunt 1991). To do so, each ofthe theoretical statements in the model should be summa-rized and ordered as follows:

1. Premises or assumptions that are not defined within themodel and

2. Derived statements that can be logically deduced from thepremises (Hage 1972; Hunt 1991).

The set of ordered statements should form a chain syllo-gism (Blumberg 1976), such as the following:

•Premise: (1) If A implies B,•Premise: (2) and B implies C,•Derived: (3) then A implies C.In the chain syllogism just given, statements 1 and 2 are

premises and statement 3 is a derived statement. The basictheoretical statement "As extrinsic satisfaction decreases,job seeking is likely to increase," can be derived by usingstatements in the explanation as premises:

Premises.

1. Decreasing extrinsic job satisfaction (A) -^ perception of aproblem (B) (lack of adequate pay): A —> B.

2. Perception of a problem (B) —> motivation to search for asolution (C): B ̂ C.

3. Motivation search for a solution (C) —> search for a morerewarding job (D).

Derived statement.

Decreasing extrinsic job satisfaction (A) —> search for a morerewarding job (D): A —» D.

Ensuring that the statements composing the theoreticalargument are logically interrelated is a critical step. In awell-known critique of consumer research, Kassarjian(1971) states that attempts to relate general personality char-acteristics, such as sociability, to brand choice failedbecause the investigators did not develop a specific explana-tion of why sociability should be related to selecting a brandof toothpaste. Kassarjian (1971) cited a study by Jacoby(1971) that overcame the problem. Jacoby predicts that lowdogmatics will be more innovative than high dogmatics onthe basis of the explanation that high dogmatics will avoidthe perceived risk of switching to a new brand.

The power of a theoretical statement to serve as a foun-dation for deriving research hypotheses is rooted in the verybroad scope of the statement relative to research hypotheses.The theoretical statement, with definitions of its conceptsand an understanding of the proposed explanation linkingthe concepts, can support a large number of empiricalinquiries.

The statement "As extrinsic satisfaction decreases, theworker is likely to perceive that a problem exists" could leadto numerous studies. As an example, one could predict thatas extrinsic satisfaction decreases, the worker is likely tosearch for means of receiving more rewards from the currentjob. The possibility of increased rewards may depend on thestructure of the sales position. Salespeople working on com-mission may allocate more time to calling on prospectivenew accounts and spend less time providing services to low-volume current accounts. A prediction based on a theoreti-cal statement will move the research to the second major

step in the theory-setting-test sequence: the setting andproposition(s).

The S Step: Theoretical Statement toSetting and PropositionThe theoretical statement is abstract and broad and does notrefer to specific phenomena that could become the topic ofempirical research. The researcher must move from theabstract world of thought to a real-world setting. The theo-retical statement to setting and proposition step accomplish-es that end. A major tool of hypothesis development is appli-cable to this step: a ladder of abstraction.

To discuss the ladder of abstraction, we use the theoreti-cal statement used previously as an example: "As workerextrinsic job satisfaction decreases, job seeking increases."By replacing the abstract concepts of the theoretical state-ment with concepts that are specific to a setting, a proposi-tion could be stated, "As the extrinsic job satisfaction ofindustrial salespeople decreases, the salesperson is morelikely to take steps to leam of other sales jobs that offer morematerial rewards." The same negative operational linkagebetween concepts is found in both the theoretical statementand the proposition.

The ladder of abstraction is the idea that the domain of aconcept includes referents ranging from the broad andabstract to the narrow and concrete (Osigweh 1989;Zaltman, Pinson, and Angelman 1973). A ladder of abstrac-tion for extrinsic job satisfaction is as follows:

•Worker extrinsic job satisfaction,•Sales worker extrinsic job satisfaction,•Industrial sales worker extrinsic job satisfaction,•Computer manufacturer salespeople extrinsic job satisfaction.The ladder of abstraction can be of service to the

researcher in two ways. First, a proposition should be logi-cally tied to the theoretical statement. Specifically, each cor-responding proposition level concept should be a subset ofthe domain of the theoretical concept, and the ladder pro-vides a means of checking for congruency. As an example,many consumer behavior attitude models have been drawnfrom theoretical statements in psychology that apply tohumans in general. Thus, such models should apply to con-sumers in any setting (Ladder: Humans, Consumers,Consumers of Product X ...). However, the setting specificsubjects in tests of the models should be consumers of thefocal product, not just consumers. That line of argument hasresulted in what appears to be a general rule in marketingthat student subjects are acceptable if students are con-sumers of the focal product.

Second, the ladder of abstraction can open the door tomany potential research topics, because it is possible tocome down the ladder of abstraction to develop many dif-ferent propositions. A new proposition would be that forretail salespeople, as extrinsic job satisfaction decreases, jobsearch increases. Dubin (1978) has proposed a general rulefor coming down the ladder of abstraction and that is to testonly new propositions that will be of scientific interest.Once sufficient empirical evidence has been obtained testinga theoretical statement, retesting it with new propositions isof little interest. However, if a theoretical reason exists to

8 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Modei

suggest that a new setting could make a difference in theresults as compared with prior research, testing a newproposition would be of interest because this would be areplication and extension. If the testing the job satisfaction-search proposition in an industrial setting had found confir-matory evidence, testing for the same relationship in a retailsetting would be of more interest to the extent that some rea-son existed to anticipate that retail sales could be differentfrom industrial.

A fruitful source of ideas for hypotheses and a test forconsistency with theory is to array the concepts found in atheoretical statement on a ladder of abstraction. A great dealof research in marketing involves borrowing from other dis-ciplines, which is a process of moving up a ladder ofabstraction to obtain a general statement, then moving downthe ladder to apply the statement within a setting of interestto marketers. The borrowing process can be done properly ifcongruency exists between the theoretical statement in themother discipline and the marketing proposition. Fishbeinattitude theory extended to marketing is an example of prop-er borrowing. Borrowing is not proper if the basic theoreti-cal statement with its concepts is not congruent with themarketing proposition. As an example, Hunt (1991) con-cluded that marketing investigations of the psychophysics ofprice were flawed. In psychology, psychophysics involvesthe perceptual limits of human ability to discriminatebetween different stimuli, such as two identical packagesweighing 15 and 16 ounces. In marketing, the interest wasnot in perceptual limits, but rather differences in price relat-ed to consumer buying preferences. For example, would thefavorite brand be selected if it was priced at $1.89, comparedwith $1.79 for another brand? Psychological psychophysicsdid not concern such issues.

Research is strengthened if a discussion is provided tojustify the appropriateness of the setting for testing hypothe-ses drawn from the theoretical statement. Parasuraman,Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) justified the services chosen forinvestigation by providing a cross section of services basedon a classification of services proposed by Lovelock (1983).Cronin and Taylor (1992) did not justify their settings (bank-ing, fast food, pest control, and dry cleaning) in terms ofappropriateness for testing the SERVQUAL model. TheSERVQUAL model covers only service delivery andexcludes service outcomes, such as the taste and so on offood from a fast-food restaurant. Part of Cronin and Taylor'sinterest was in satisfaction, and food is probably an impor-tant facet of satisfaction for a restaurant (Swan and Trawick1981).

In summary, the ladder of abstraction is a tool to assist theresearcher in checking for consistency between the domainof the propositional level concepts and the theoretical con-cepts. The process is more than a simple mechanical proce-dure, in that the student must gain an understanding of sev-eral critical issues, including the logical tie between the the-oretical statement and hypothesis as supported by bridgelaws.

The T Step: Proposition to TestableHypothesisThe proposition has moved the research project down a lad-der of abstraction from the general concepts in the theoreti-cal statement to a specific research setting. However, anadditional step down the ladder of abstraction is required forempirical testing. The example proposition "As job satisfac-tion with material rewards decreases, seeking sales workwith another firm increases" is not directly testable becausethe prediction is not directly comparable to data. A researchhypothesis is needed.

A research hypothesis is a predictive statement in whichthe concepts in the proposition are replaced by operationaldefinitions, and the operational linkage is replaced by a sta-tistical test. The question of an appropriate operational defi-nition and statistical test involves several issues, many ofwhich are beyond the scope of this article. Here the focus ison logical tests of an operational definition and the linkagebetween concepts. The form of the relationship (e.g., linear,power curve) between the operational definitions determinethe appropriate statistical test (Hage 1972; Hunt 1991).Qperational definitions or measures of the concepts, such as"job satisfaction with material rewards," are needed.

Conceptual To Operational DefinitionsThe logical test of a hypothesis is that it must be homolo-gous with the proposition it tests, which implies that theoperational definitions of each concept must be within thedomain of its respective propositional level concept (Dubin1978). It is quite possible that more than one operationallevel definition can be obtained for a single propositionalconcept, and each additional operational measure can createanother hypothesis, so that one proposition can support sev-eral hypotheses (Dubin 1978). This occurs because of thewide domain of propositional concepts, and for each dimen-sion of the concept another operational definition may bepossible.

The example proposition "As job satisfaction with mate-rial rewards decreases, seeking sales work with another firmincreases" requires operational definitions of job satisfac-tion with material rewards and seeking sales work withanother firm. Assume that the operational measures usedwere (1) the "pay" component of the Churchill, Ford andWalker (1974) measure of industrial sales job satisfaction(INDSALES) and (2) a self report (JQB SEARCH) by sales-people of job search activities such as reading trade publica-tions to leam of sales openings. The testable hypothesiswould be the following:

Hj: As satisfaction with pay (measured by the pay component ofINDSALES) decreases, job search activities are likely toincrease (as measured by JOB SEARCH).

A lack of consistency between a concept's theoretical def-inition and its operational definition is a potential problemfound in Brown and Swartz's (1989) study. They build theirmodel on a distinction between two types of expectations:(1) expectations as experience based norms, performancethat the service should provide, and (2) predictive expecta-tions, the performance that the consumer anticipates will beprovided. Brown and Swartz (1989) chose norms as their

Marketing Education Review

theoretical concept. However, some of their measuresappear to he predictions, such as "I expect my doctor to talkclearly...". Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) defineexpectations as what consumers feel should be provided,which is congruent with their operational definition inwhich respondents were instructed to "show the extent towhich you think firms offering ... services should possessthe features described."

In marketing, practices on writing propositions andhypotheses vary considerably. Frequently, the type of state-ment that has been termed a "proposition" in this article islabeled a "hypothesis" in marketing articles, and the type ofstatement illustrated previously as a "testable hypothesis" isnot stated. Rather, the testable hypothesis is given implicitlyby describing the operational definitions of the independentand dependent variables. As an example. Brown and Swartz(1989) give the following statement, which they term ahypothesis: "The level of positive client evaluation of theprofessional service is inversely related to gap 1." The oper-ational definitions of the variables were given so it would beeasy for a reader of Brown and Swartz (1989) to write outthe testable hypothesis. The explicit statement of both aproposition and its testable hypothesis would add to thelength of an article and is probably unnecessary. The valueof writing a testable hypothesis is that it can assistresearchers in checking their work for theory-setting andproposition-testable hypothesis congruency and help aresearcher in conducting a critical evaluation of the litera-ture on the topic of interest.

Bridge LawsStatements that tie the empirical setting to the theoreticalstatement and propositions are termed bridge laws and serveto close the gap between the theoretical level statement, withits theoretical definitions, and the setting-specific phe-nomenon, as expressed in a research hypothesis (Hunt1991). Bridge laws are also termed guiding hypotheses orassumptions.

The setting and propositional concept to operational mea-sure step involves a series of bridge laws. Because the logi-cal test of an operational definition is homology with thepropositional concept, it is appropriate to start with thepropositional level definition of the concept and compare itwith the operational definition (Dubin 1978). We use indus-trial salesperson job satisfaction with material rewards as anillustration. If material rewards were defined as resourceswith exchange value, then such items as salary, commission,bonuses, incentive awards such as an travel, and use of acompany car would be included (see Table 1). A bridge lawwould be that the pay component of INDSALES was with-in the domain of the propositional level concept. Theassumption would be reasonable, because by definition payis a resource with exchange value. "Pay" would not be acomplete measure of the concept and if additional measures,such as job satisfaction with incentive awards, could beobtained, other hypotheses could be formulated relating sat-isfaction with incentives to job search.

In summary, the definition of the concept in the theoreti-cal statement should be homologous with the definition inthe proposition and the two definitions should be tiedtogether by bridge laws. Next, the propositional level con-

cept and operational definition should be homologous. If agap is found, an opportunity for an empirical study may besuggested. The next step in establishing theory to hypothe-sis consistency is to ensure that the form of the relationshipbetween the concepts in the theoretical statement, proposi-tion, and hypothesis is consistent.

Consistency of Operational Linkage and StatisticalTestsThe operational linkage specifies how the concepts in thetheoretical statement are related (Hage 1972). The exampleposits that as extrinsic job satisfaction (X) decreases, seek-ing another job is likely to increase (Y). The operationallinkage is negative and direct: As X decreases, Y increases.The same linkage should be found in the propositions andhypothesis.

At the hypothesis level, a statistical test that is homolo-gous with the operational linkage is needed, and measure-ment of the concepts becomes an issue. The INDSALESscale has been treated as an interval level measure(Churchill, Ford, and Walker 1974) and if the job searchmeasure was also an interval measure, then a statistical testof association for interval measures such as regressionwould be appropriate.

A limitation of many studies in marketing is that the the-oretical statement specifies a direct relationship betweenvariables—for example: "As X increases, Y increases"—anda linear model is used. Not all direct relationships are nec-essarily linear; as an example, a curvilinear relationship isdirect. If a relationship was curvilinear but only linearregression was employed, empirical support for a hypothe-sis may have gone unrecognized.

How the variables are posited to be related theoreticallyshould be congruent with the operational linkage, the rela-tionships created by the measurement process. Teas (1993)believes that Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) hadproblems in that area. Essentially, Parasuraman, Zeithaml,and Berry (1988) specified that as Performance (P) minusExpectation (E) increases, service quality (SQ) increases.Teas (1993) noted that expectations were defined byParasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry as similar to ideal stan-dards. If so, the classical ideal point attitudinal model wouldbe implied. However, in the ideal point model, performanceabove the ideal point could decrease SQ, so SQ would notalways increase as P-E increases. Teas (1993) solved theproblem by modeling SQ as an ideal point where SQincreased as performance came closer to the ideal point.

Domain ConsistencyThe domain of a theoretical statement is a specification ofthat part of the natural world in which the statement isexpected to apply and the setting in which the hypotheseswill be tested should be consistent with the domain. Dubin(1978) has presented an analytical approach to domain spec-ification by noting that both a theoretical model's conceptsand linkages must be within their respective boundaries. Hedefines boundaries as that part of the theoretical and thusempirical world in which predictions can be made on thebasis of the model. As an example, some boundaries wereimplicit in the sales force turnover example. Recall that themodel of seeking another job in the same occupation was

10 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model

posited to apply only to workers that were intrinsically sat-isfied; that is, intrinsic satisfaction is a boundary condition.The design of the study would need to include a method ofselecting salespeople that were intrinsically satisfied.

Domain incongruence appears to be a problem in the set-ting selected by Cronin and Taylor (1992) to test the implic-it proposition that as consumer satisfaction with a serviceincreases, purchase intentions increase. Cronin and Taylor(1992) define the domain of satisfaction as being transactionspecific, in contrast to attitude as a long-run overall evalua-tion. However, the satisfaction question was not transactionspecific. Domain consistency was evident in Parasuraman,Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) as the domain for service quali-ty was assumed to be a long-run evaluation of a service, nottransaction specific, and their measure of service qualitywas the respondent's long-run experience with a service.

Summary of the Theory-Setting-Test ModelIn summary, we illustrate a three-step procedure for devel-oping hypotheses from theory (see Table 1):

1. Theory and predictions,2. Setting and propositions, and3. Testable hypotheses and measurement.

The three-step process of developing theoretically linkedhypotheses started with the theory step and identification ofa theoretical statement that relates an independent variableto a dependent variable. The concepts that comprise theindependent and dependent variables are defined to specifywhat part of the empirical world the theory includes. Therelationship between concepts in the theoretical statementare identified and made explicit in two ways: First, the oper-ational linkage specifies how the concepts are related (e.g.,as X increases, Y increases); and second, the reason the con-cepts are related constitutes the theoretical explanation. Theresult of completing the theory step should be a clear under-standing of a theoretical model of the phenomena of interest.

The setting and proposition step consists of moving thesecond major step in hypotheses development down a ladderof abstraction and identifying a specific setting that is with-in the domain of the theoretical concepts. To help ensure thatthe setting is a logical subset of the theoretical statement,bridge laws, assumptions that justify the propositional levelconcepts and statements, are identified. The set of bridgelaws should be examined for logical consistency, and a toolfor that task is the chain syllogism. The outcome of theproposition step should be a set of propositions. The lastmajor step, testable hypothesis and measurement, is accom-plished by replacing the concepts in the proposition withoperational definitions and choosing a statistical test thatwill measure the form of the relationship between the con-cepts. Finally the domain of the theoretical statement, thatpart of the theoretical world to which the statement applies,must be examined to set the boundaries of the theoreticalmodel. The setting for hypothesis testing must be withinthose boundaries. We now offer some suggestions for usingthe model in a doctoral seminar.

Using the Theory-Setting-Test Model in aPhilosophy of Science SeminarThe major purpose of the theory-setting-test model is toassist doctoral students in developing skills to integrate phi-losophy of science ideas about theory with a substantivetopic of interest to develop testable hypotheses. To do so, thestudent must leam how to make connections between mate-rial in the philosophy of science, a substantive empiricalresearch topic, and research methods for hypotheses testing.We explain how our seminar (1) provides doctoral studentswith an initial experience in integrating theory, a substantivetopic, and research methods and (2) identifies how the sem-inar is positioned to provide skills that students can furtherdevelop in subsequent doctoral level work.

Seminar Coverage of Theory, a Substantive Topic,and MethodsThe seminar is divided into three parts: (1) understanding aresearch article, (2) research guided by realism as a philos-ophy of science, and (3) qualitative interpretative research asan alternative to realism. Two types of readings are used: (1)conceptual readings that are employed to covey the basicideas and concepts that seminar covers, for example. Hunt's(1991) Modern Marketing Theory, and (2) illustrative read-ings that the students are to analyze using ideas from theconceptual readings. The illustrative readings include a setof articles selected by the instructor to illustrate good andpoor practice. A limited set of illustrative articles isemployed to give the students more time for analysis byreducing the number of new readings. Service quality hasbeen selected as the illustrative topic because it containsarticles that provide appropriate examples and as a veryminor objective, it is a topic of importance in marketing.Students are not expected to master the illustrative material,and it is not included on the final exam in the seminar.

The seminar starts with understanding a research articleas the first major topic. The five two-hour periods on under-standing a research article provide students with an "easy"first experience in relating theory, topic, and methodbecause that is the content of empirical articles in the majormarketing journals. This block of the seminar can also bedescribed as learning how to read a hypotheses-testing arti-cle by analysis of its structure or morphology.

Our treatment of the morphology of an article starts withan overview of the components of a research article. Theassignment is to read (1) an essay that describes andexplains the theory-setting-test model (hereafter the TSTessay) and (2) a straightforward research article (Hansenand Robinson 1980). We point out that a research article isfocused on a unique contribution to the literature, and iden-tification of the contribution, which should be a clear andspecific statement of how the article makes an incrementalcontribution to knowledge, is an excellent means of gainingan initial understanding of a research article. The contribu-tion is built around one or more theoretical statements, com-posed of concepts and the linkage between concepts. Thetheoretical statement has been tested by moving it down aladder of abstraction to a specific setting and reformulatingthe abstract theoretical statement as a testable hypotheses byfinding operational measures for the concepts. Data are col-

Marketing Education Review 11

lected, hypotheses are tested, results are related to theory,and theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Vhe class assignment is to identify the components notedpreviously in Hansen and Robinson (1980), and the in-classdiscussion provides a brief overview of the morphology ofthat article (see Table 2). The remaining periods on deci-phering a research article cover the topics shown inAppendix A.

After the material on understanding the morphology of aresearch topic has been covered, students write a short essayin which they identify and evaluate the morphology of a fewarticles on a topic of their choice (see Appendix B). Thetopic becomes the student's topic for the remainder of theseminar. This paper and the second paper are viewed as anopportunity for the development of student skills and theprovision of instructor guidance toward the major paper.Typically, some students confuse part of the morphology.

and the essay gives the instructor an opportunity to clarifysome points.

The next major block of material covers realism as a phi-losophy of science and provides a philosophical foundationfor much of the material covered in the first third of the sem-inar. As an example, we point out that theoretical linkagesconcern explanation and use the coverage of that topic inHunt's (1991) philosophy of science text to help studentsmove from identification of theoretical linkages to criteriafor evaluating an explanation. Service quality articles serveas illustrative material. Specific topics covered includeexplanation, scientific laws, and theory (see Appendix C).The essay on the theory-setting-test model is used to helpstudents work through the rather difficult material in Hunt(1991). A short paper on realism is assigned, in which stu-dents critique a few articles in light of the material coveredin this section (see Appendix D).

Table 2. Morphology of the Hansen and Robinson (1980) Research Article

Research Article Component Component in Hansen and Robinson

Contribution

Theoretical Statement

Operational Linkage

Theoretical Linkage

Ladder of Abstraction and Setting

Definitions:

Theoretical:

Operational:

Theoretical:

Operational:

Theoretical:

Operational:

Theoretical:

Operational:

Proposition

Hypothesis"

Results'"

Compliance

Compliance

Small Initial Task

Small Initial Task

High Involvement Foot Questions

High Involvement Foot Questions

Low Involvement Foot Questions

Low Involvement Foot Questions

1. Continued application of foot-in-door in marketing research2. An explanation for mixed results of Reingen and Keman (1979)

Compliance with a small initial request enhances the likelihood ofcompliance with a larger subsequent task

Positive, direct

Individuals infer attitudes and beliefs from observation of theirbehavior, thus compliance with a small request causes the sub-ject to infer a positive attitude about the subsequent (larger) task.

General: compliance using foot-in-doorSetting specific: Compliance in mail survey using high/low

involvement initial task

Not explicit

Mail survey response rates

Not explicit

Telephone interview of 5 minutes or less

Not explicit

Probe questions asked

Not explicit

Fixed alternative questions asked

Response rates will be greater for HIGH than LOW involvementfoot.

Response rates (as measured by portion of questionnaires returnedwithin 35 days that were 85% complete) will be greater forHIGH (measured by experimental treatment-use probe ques-tions)than LOW (measured by experimental treatment-use fixedalternative questions) involvement.

Response rates by involvementHIGH: 58% LOW: 43%

"Other hypotheses were tested but were excluded from class discussion.••Other results were presented but were excluded from class discussion.

12 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Modei

The major paper covers the theory-setting-test model, themorphology of a research article and realism. The objectiveof the paper is for the student both to develop and demon-strate skills in the integration of theory, setting, and hypoth-esis by reviewing about six articles on his or her topic. Thepaper can be organized around a theoretical statement pro-posed by the student or theoretical statement(s) found in theliterature (see Appendix E).

The final topic covered is qualitative research, which isbeyond the scope of our theory-setting-test model and thisarticle, so it will be only briefly mentioned here. Qualitativeresearch is initiated with readings from Kuhn (1970) andone empirical article to convey the concept of a researchparadigm (see Appendix F). Next, the qualitative interpre-tive research paradigm is contrasted with the realismparadigm using Hudson and Ozanne (1988). The Hudsonand Ozanne contrast of interpretative research to realism iseasier to grasp because the class has previously coveredrealism in Hunt (1991). Finally, readings in qualitative the-ory and method (Lofland and Lofland 1984; Schwartz andJacobs 1979; Turner 1986) and marketing sources on meth-ods (Swan 1985) and substantive works (Prus 1991; Sherry1990) are used to convey to the class current qualitative andinductive (Bitner, Booms, and Tetreault 1990) research inmarketing (see Appendix F).

Positioning This Seminar in the Doctoral ProgramSequencing this seminar in the doctoral program is anotherconcern. A new class of students starts the doctoral programin the fall quarter, and we offer this seminar in the next quar-ter. The major advantage of this is that it provides a founda-tion for substantive seminars, methods courses, service as agraduate research assistant, and work toward a dissertationtopic. Feedback on the seminar that we have received fromstudents indicates that it is important in helping prepare stu-dents to read and understand articles assigned in substantiveseminars and it shows students how important researchmethods courses are to the conduct of inquiry. Graduateassistants are often assigned the task of helping to assemblethe scholarly literature on a topic and that task can be con-fusing if one does not have a working knowledge of theory.Finally, many students have entered the seminar with aninterest in a substantive topic, but lacked the skills necessaryto transform their topic into a dissertation proposal. The the-ory-setting-test model has helped our students achieve thatgoal.

Summary and ConclusionsThe theory-setting-test model is important to doctoral stu-dents because it helps them to bridge gaps between theory, asubstantive topic, and empirical research. It is especiallyuseful to a doctoral student who has not been exposed to aspecial course module on the integration of the philosophyof science, statistical methods, and a substantive area. Themodel emphasizes the process of developing a set of inter-related theoretical statements that are used to make predic-tions relating independent and dependent variables. The pro-cess continues with the specification of concepts that arelogically tied to the theoretical statement within a particularsetting. The verbal linkages between the theoretical state-

ment and specification of concepts are propositions.Completing the third step of the model, hypotheses are cre-ated by the development and/or selection of operational def-initions, measurements, and statistical tools within thedomain of the theoretical statement. We have successfullyused the theory-setting-test model in a philosophy of scienceseminar.

The theory-setting-test model describes the process ofmoving from conceptual statements to hypotheses. As such,it can be helpful for doctoral students in evaluating the workof others as well as assisting them in developing their ownresearch ideas. We hope that our presentation of the theory-setting-test model will stimulate marketing educators' pre-sentations of their approaches to integrating theory andhypotheses in doctoral education.

Appendix A: Seminar Coverage of theMorphology of a Research Article:Realism as a Philosophy of Science:Topics, Readings, Assignments

1. Introduction: Research Article Morphology—Readings: TheTST Essay (C)i; Hansen and Robinson (1980) (I).2Assignment: Identify in Hansen and Robinson Contribution,Theoretical Statement, Linkages—theoretical and opera-tional. Definitions—theoretical and operational. Proposition,Hypothesis, Results.

2. Concepts: Theoretical and Operational Definitions—Readings: The TST Essay (C), Zaltman, Pinson, andAngelmar (1973), Ch. 2 "...Concepts" (C); Parasuraman,Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I). Assignment: For the theoret-ical definition of service quality, identify extension, domainor connotation, distinction, role in science; Identify and eval-uate the operational definition of service quality.

3. Concepts: Development of Operational Definitions—Readings: Churchill (1979) (C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, andBerry (1988) (I). Compare the steps in the development ofconcept measures recommended by Churchill (1979) to thesteps taken by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry.

4. Concepts: Development and Change Within a ResearchTradition—Readings: The TST Essay (C); Osigweh (1989)(C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) (I);Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I); Cronin andTaylor (1992) (I). Assignment: What continuities andchanges can you find in service quality in 1985, 1988 and1992? To what extent has the Parasuraman, Zeithaml, andBerry (1988) concept of service quality satisfied Osigweh'sgoals of (1) wide extension and (2) precise connotation? andhis procedures for concept formation of (1) limited domain,(2) many attributes included in the operational definition, and(3) delimit the concept?

5. Linkages Between Concepts: Theoretical and Operational—Readings: The TST Essay (C); Hage (1972), Ch. 4"...Linkages" (C); Oliver (1980) (I). Assignment: Identify thetheoretical and operational linkages involving disconfirma-tion, satisfaction, and intentions in Oliver (1980).

Appendix B: Paper One Assignment onthe Morphology of Research ArticlesSelect two empirical research articles on a topic of yourchoice. In your articles, (1) identify the components listed

Marketing Education Review 13

below and (2) evaluate, compare, and contrast each compo-nent between your articles. Components: contribution, theo-retical statement, concepts and theoretical definitions,propositions including concepts and linkages, hypothesisincluding operational definitions of concepts, validity, relia-bility, and operational linkages.

Appendix C: Realism as a Philosophyof Science: Topics, Readings,Assignments

L Introduction: Theory, Positive Versus Normative Theory,Discovery Versus Justification, Research Standards—Readings: Hunt (1991), Ch 1. (C); Jacoby (1978) (C);Babakus et al. (1991) (I); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I).Assignment: Compare Babakus et al. with Cronin and Tayloron positive and normative theory, discovery, and justificationas covered by Hunt. Compare Babakus et al. with Cronin andTaylor in terms of the following research standards in Jacoby:theories, models, concepts, procedures, and methods.

2. Explanation—Readings: The TST Essay (C); Hunt (1991),Ch 2. "The Morphology of Explanation," (emphasis on pp.49-57); Ch 3. "Explanation: Issues..., (emphasis on pp.83-88) (C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) (I);Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I); Parasuraman,Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) (I). Assignment: Identify theexplanation for why service quality increases as performanceminus expectations increases, then answer the followingquestions concerning that explanation: 1. Does it satisfy thefour criteria discussed by Hunt? 2. What type of explanationis it and what implications does that have for testing it? 3. Isthe explanation circular? 4. Does it meet the criteria for acausal explanation?

3. Scientific Law—Readings: The TST Essay (C); Hunt (1991)Ch 4. "The Morphology ... Laws," Ch 5. "Scientific Laws...,"(emphasis on pp. 129^5) (C); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I).Assignment: Evaluate from Cronin and Taylor as a possiblescientific law the statement, "As perceived service perfor-mance increases, service quality increases," using the follow-ing criteria from Hunt: generalized conditionals, empiricalcontent, nomic necessity, systematically integrated, and sub-stantial empirical evidence. Identify a possible bridge lawthat could be used in Cronin and Taylor to derive the state-ment given above from work on attitudes.

4. r/ieory—Readings: Hunt (1991), Ch 6. "...Theory," (C), TheTST Essay (C); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) (I).Assignment: (1) Evaluate the following as a possible state-ment in a scientific theory: As performance minus expecta-tions increases, overall service quality increases. Use the fol-lowing criteria: systematically related, law like generaliza-tions, empirically testable. (2) Attempt a partial formalizationusing statements in the explanation as premises to derive thestatement given previously.

5. Classification Schemata—Readings: Hunt (1991), Ch 7."Theory: Issues...," (emphasis on pp. 176-89) (C); Lovelock(1983) (I); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) (I).Assignment: Analyze the five dimensions of service qualityas a classification schema by answering the following ques-tions: (1) Was the classification based primarily on logicalpartitioning or grouping? (2) How well does the schema sat-isfy the following criteria: (a) Does it adequately specify thephenomenon to be classified? (b) Does it adequately specifythe properties of services on which the classification is based?(c) Are the categories mutually exclusive? (d) Are the cate-

gories collectively exhaustive? (e) Is the schema useful?Compare the approach to classification used by Lovelockwith Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry.

Appendix D: Paper Two: Assignmenton RealismUse the same two empirical research articles that you select-ed for the first paper in this seminar. In your articles identi-fy and develop the items listed: (1) Explanation, type ofexplanation, and criteria: (a) expected, (b) pragmatic, (c)intersubjectivity, (d) empirical content; (2) Laws and crite-ria: (a) lawlike generalization, (b) nomic necessity, (c)empirical content, (d) extensive evidence, (e) systematicallyintegrated; (3) Theory—define and (a) use a chain syllogismto show that the statements are systematically related, (b)use bridge laws to tie the theory to the setting, and (c) uselawlike generalizations that are empirically testable.

Appendix E: Major Paper AssignmentFind and use a total of five or six articles on your topic.Include the two articles used for the short papers and one ortwo additional empirical research articles and one or twoconceptual essay articles (if available). Use a review of thearticles to develop a theoretical statement, think of a settingin which the statement could be tested, state a proposition orpropositions, and present a hypothesis or hypotheses thatwould follow from the proposition(s). Write a report on yourwork that contains the following: (1) Your unique contribu-tion to the literature; (2) Theoretical statement with conceptsdefined and linkages discussed per Paper one; (3) Using thecriteria in Paper two, an analysis of your theoretical state-ment as a possible scientific law; (4) An explanation for therelationships in your theoretical statement and an analysis ofyour explanation in terms of the criteria used in paper two;(5) An evaluation of your work as a possible theory using achain syllogism as you did in Paper two; (6) Your proposi-tion(s) and bridge laws; (7) Your hypothesis or hypotheseswith operational definitions and linkages; and (8) A discus-sion of the issues of validity and reliability of yourmeasures.

Appendix F: Qualitative ResearchParadigm: An Alternative to RealismTopics, Readings, Assignments

1. The Concept of a Research Paradigm, Normal Science andScientific Revolution—Readings: Kuhn (1970) Ch. II-IV,VII, and VII (C); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I). Assignment:How does a research paradigm influence the work of science?Was Cronin and Taylor influenced by a paradigm? How andwhy does a paradigm shift? Does Cronin and Taylor illustratea paradigm shift or the start of a scientific revolution?

2. Qualitative, Ethnographic Paradigms Contrasted toRealism—Readings: Hunt (1991), pp. 394-98, 402-10 (C);Hudson and Ozanne (1988) (C); Jacobs and Dopkeen (1990)(C); Prus (1991) (I); Cronin and Taylor (1992) (I).Assignment: Contrast realism as found in Cronin and Taylorwith qualitative research in Prus (1991) on the followingpoints: ontological, axioiogical, and epistemological assump-tions; the empirical research process; and criteria for a com-

14 The Theory-Setting-Testable Hypothesis Model

pleted research project. What are some limitations of realismaccording to Jacobs and Dopkeen?

3. Research Goals and Methods—The general goal of qualita-tive research is reality reconstruction and the two most fre-quently employed methods are interviewing and participantobservation- Readings: Schwartz and Jacobs, pp. 1-16;37-59 (C); Sherry (1990) (I). Assignment: Find some exam-ples of the following in Sherry: reality reconstruction, use ofinterviewing, use of participant observation.

4. Data Analysis and Theory Development in Qualitative/fe^earc/i—Readings: Swan (1985) (C); Turner (1986) Ch.15 (C); Lofland and Lofland (1984) (C); Prus (1991) (I);Sherry (1990) (I). Assignment: Analytical induction (Swan1985) is the most common method of data analysis in quali-tative research. Frequently theory in qualitative researchinforms data analysis by (1) providing general premises abouthuman behavior as does symbolic interactionism (see Turner1986) and/or (2) giving specific concepts, Lofland andLofland's "thinking units" that can serve as a focus within astudy. Prus claims that his study was guided by symbolicinteractionism. How is symbolic interactionism reflected inPrus? Did Sherry use any of Lofland and Lofland's ThinkingUnits? How might Sherry or Prus have used analytical induc-tion to develop any of their findings?

5. Qualitative Research in Marketing—Readings: Prus (1991)(I); Sherry (1990) (I); Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry(1985, 1988) (I); Bitner, Booms, and Tetreault (1990) (I).Assignment: Qualitative research in marketing has includedthe following types of articles: (1) the use of qualitative meth-ods of data collection as a part of an overall research effortguided by realism (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985,1988); (2) qualitative data collection, analysis, and theory(Prus 1991; Sherry 1990). How would you classify Bitner,Booms, and Tetrault 1990? Summarize the data collection,analysis, and findings in Bitner, Booms, and Tetrault.

'C = conceptual reading.^I = illustrative reading.

ReferencesAnderson, P.F. (1983), "Marketing, Scientific Progress, and

Scientific Method," Journal of Marketing, 47 (Fall), 18-31.

Babakus, Emin, Steven J. Remington, George H. Lucas, Jr., andCarol G. Camell (1991), "Issues in the Practice of CosmeticSurgery: Consumers' Use of Infonnation and Perceptions ofService Quality," Journal of Health Care Marketing, 11(September), 12-18.

Bagozzi, Richard P. (1984), "A Prospectus for TheoryConstruction in Marketing," Journal of Marketing, 48 (Winter),11-29.

Bitner, Mary Jo, Bernard H. Booms, and Mary Stanfield Tetreault(1990), "The Service Encounter: Diagnosing Favorable andUnfavorable Incidents," Journal of Marketing, 54 (January),71-84.

Blumberg, Albert E. (1976), Logic: A First Course. New York:Alfred A. Knopf.

Brinberg, David and Joseph E. McGrath (1985), Validity and theResearch Process. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Brown, Stephen W. and Teresa A. Swartz (1989), "A Gap Analysisof Professional Service Quality," Journal of Marketing, 53(Apdl), 92-98.

Churchill, Gilbert A. (1979), "A Paradigm for Developing BetterMeasures of Marketing Constructs," Journal of MarketingResearch, 16 (February), 64-73.

, Neil M. Ford, and Orville C. Walker, Jr. (1974),"Measuring the Job Satisfaction of Industrial Salesmen,"Journal of Marketing Research, 11 (August), 256-60.

(1990), Sales Force Management. Homewood, IL:Richard D. Irwin.

Cronin, J. Joseph, Jr. and Steven A. Taylor (1992), "MeasuringService Quality: A Re-examination and Extension," Journal ofMarketing, 56 (July), 55-68.

Dubin, Robert (1978), Theory Building. New York: Free Press.

Hage, Jerald (1972), Techniques and Problems of TheoryConstruction in Sociology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Hansen, Robert A. and Larry M. Robinson (1980), "Testing theEffectiveness of Alternative Foot-in-the Door Manipulations,"Journal of Marketing Research, 17 (August), 359-64.

Hudson, Laurel A. and Julie L. Qzanne (1988), "Alternative Waysof Seeking Knowledge in Consumer Research," Journal ofConsumer Research, 14 (March), 508-21.

Hunt, Shelby D. (1983), Marketing Theory: The Philosophy ofMarketing Science. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin.

(1991), Modem Marketing Theory. Cincinnati, OH:South-Western.

Jacobs, Jerry and Leslie Dopkeen (1990), "Risking the QualitativeStudy of Risk," Qualitative Sociology, 13 (2), 169-78.

Jacoby, Jacob (1971), "Personality and Innovation Proness,"Journal of Marketing Research, 8 (May), 244—47.

(1978), "Consumer Research: A State-of-the-ArtReview," Journal of Marketing, 42 (April), 87-96.

Kassarjian, Harold H. (1971), "Personality and ConsumerBehavior: A Review," Journal of Marketing Research, 8(November), 409-19.

Kinner, Thomas C. (1991), "From The Editor," Journal ofMarketing, 55 (April), 1-3.

(1992) "From The Editor," Journal of Marketing, 56(January), 1-3.

Kuhn, T.S. (1970), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lofland, John and Lyn H. Lofland (1984), A Guide to QualitativeObservation and Analysis, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Lovelock, Christopher H. (1983), "Classifying Services to GainStrategic Marketing Insights," Journal of Marketing, 47(Summer), 9-20.

Malhotra, Naresh (1988), "Some Observations on the State of theArt in Marketing Research," Journal of the Academy ofMarketing Science, 16 (Spring), 4-24.

Oliver, Richard L. (1980) "A Cognitive Model of the Antecedentsand Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions," Journal ofMarketing Research, 17 (November), 460-69.

Osigweh, Chimezxie A.B. (1989), "Concept Fallibility inOrganization Science," Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 579-94.

Parsuraman, A., Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry(1985), "A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and ItsImplications for Future Research," Journal of Marketing, 49(Fall), 41-50.

Marketing Education Review 15

and (1988), "SERVQUAL: AMultiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions ofService Quality," Joumal of Retailing, 64 (1), 12-40.

, , and (1994), "Reassessment ofExpectations as a Comparison Standard in Measuring ServiceQuality: Implications for Further Research," Journal ofMarketing, 58 (January), 111-24.

Prus, Robert (1991), "'Just Browsing, Thanks!': Focused andDiffuse Shopping Practices," in Marketing Theory andApplications (Proceedings Winter Educators' Conference), T.L. Childers et al. eds. Chicago, IL, American MarketingAssociation 296-302.

Schwartz, Howard and Jerry Jacobs (1979), Qualitative Sociology,New York: The Free Press, 1-59.

Sherry, John F., Jr. (1990), "A Sociocultural Analysis of AMidwestern American Flea Market," Joumal of ConsumerResearch, 17 (June), 13-30.

Swan, John E. (1985), "Grounded Theory: An InductiveMethodology For Theory Building Research in Marketing," in

AMA Educators Proceedings, R. F. Lusch, G. T. Ford, G. L.Frazer, R. D. Howell, CA. Ingene, M. Reilly, and R. W.Stampfi, eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association,348-54.

and I. Fredrick Trawick (1981), "Disconfirmation ofExpectations and Satisfaction with a Retail Service," Joumal ofRetailing, 57 (Fall), 49-67.

Teas, R. Kenneth (1993), "Expectations, Performance Evaluation,and Consumers' Perceptions of Quality," Joumal of Marketing,57 (October), 18-34.

Turner, Jonathan H. (1986), The Structure of Sociological Theory,4th ed. Chicago: Dorsey Press.

Weitz, Barton A. (1992), "Editorial," Journal of MarketingResearch, 29 (February), 1-4.

Zaltman, Gerald, Karen LeMasters, and Michael Heffring (1982),Theory Construction in Marketing: Some Thoughts on Thinking.New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

-, Christian R. A. Pinson, and Reinhard Angelmar (1973),Metatheory and Consumer Research. New York: Holt.