Measuring Product Commoditization: Scale Development

Commoditization refers to the process by which a product or service becomes standardized and interchangeable with similar products or services on the market, resulting in a reduction of its perceived value and a focus on price competition. The extant literature lacks a validated scale to assess product commoditization from a consumer perspective. The current research conceptualizes the construct of product commoditization and develops a self-assessment scale that evaluates commoditization as expressed by the four dimensions of brand importance, ease of switching, price sensitivity, and product homogeneity. Four studies using multiple methods confirm the reliability and validity of the product-commoditization construct.