Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale (C2CSBS)

1. Abstract

The Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale (C2CSBS) is an empirically validated, location-specific psychometric instrument designed to evaluate the interpersonal affiliations, perceived community, and affective connections that a patron develops with other consumers at a specific retail, hospitality, or service establishment. Originating from the groundbreaking empirical work of Brocato, Baker, and Voorhees (2015) published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the instrument was conceptualized as an essential human-social pillar within a broader sense-of-place theoretical framework. Unlike generalized measures of brand community or broad tribal consumer attachment, the C2CSBS explicitly isolates the physical or spatial venue as the locus of relational bonding, distinguishing bonds formed with fellow patrons who frequent that singular facility from abstract corporate loyalty or diffuse consumer identifications.

Psychometrically, the scale operates as a unidimensional, multi-item reflective inventory typically operationalized via a 7-point Likert response format ranging from 1 (“Strongly Disagree”) to 7 (“Strongly Agree”). Across rigorous exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, structural equation modeling, and multi-sample cross-validation procedures, the C2CSBS has demonstrated robust psychometric properties. Studies consistently report high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficients routinely exceeding α = .90; composite reliability values surpassing .92) and rigorous convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. The scale exhibits distinct predictive utility: it operates as an antecedent to physical place attachment dimensions—namely, place identity and place dependence—which in turn drive downstream behavioral loyalty, customer citizenship behaviors, willingness to pay price premiums, and resistance to competitive alternatives. This comprehensive review synthesizes the theoretical lineage, dimensional architecture, psychometric validation metrics, and applied research utility of the C2CSBS across service marketing, environmental psychology, and consumer research.

2. Keywords

Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale, C2CSBS, place attachment, sense of place, customer-to-customer interaction, social bonding, retail atmospherics, service management, servicescape, third places, social capital, consumer behavior, psychometrics, relational marketing

3. Authors

The Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale was formulated, operationalized, and psychometrically validated by a collaborative team of distinguished scholars in services marketing and consumer psychology:

• E. Deanne Brocato, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Marketing, Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States. Her research centers on consumer-firm relationships, the psychological dynamics of service environments, and retail brand equity.
• Julie Baker, Ph.D. — Professor Emerita of Marketing, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States. Renowned internationally for foundational research on the “servicescape,” ambient retail design, and environmental cues shaping consumer cognition and emotional response.
• Clay M. Voorhees, Ph.D. — Professor of Marketing and Faculty Research Fellow, Department of Marketing, Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States (subsequently appointed at the University of Alabama). Recognized for pioneering work in customer experience management, frontline employee interactions, and advanced structural equation modeling methodologies.

4. Purpose

The primary purpose of the Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale (C2CSBS) is to provide an exact, psychometrically sound, and venue-anchored diagnostic tool to quantify how deeply patrons feel socially and emotionally tied to other patrons within a defined physical or retail service establishment. Historically, relationship marketing literature overwhelmingly prioritized dyadic relational bonds occurring strictly between the customer and the service firm, or between the customer and frontline service personnel (such as customer-to-employee social bonds). While these focal dyads yielded significant explanatory insight regarding service quality and repeat patronage, they systematically neglected the powerful lateral interactions that occur in shared commercial spaces. Patrons rarely consume service experiences in social isolation; rather, they share physical proximities, observational cues, conversation, and mutual subcultural rituals with an array of fellow patrons.

Recognizing this critical omission, Brocato, Baker, and Voorhees (2015) designed the C2CSBS to capture the degree to which an individual consumer perceives commonality, mutual belonging, positive acquaintance, and shared relational identity with the patron collective localized at a distinct retail unit. Crucially, the scale was built to test hypotheses situated at the intersection of environmental psychology and servicescape management: specifically, why consumers develop passionate emotional bonds not merely to a commercial brand name (e.g., a corporate coffee franchise, fitness club chain, or bookstore conglomerate), but to one specific brick-and-mortar storefront.

In academic research, the C2CSBS functions as a vital focal variable within complex nomological networks. Investigators utilize the scale to evaluate how physical store architecture, atmospheric cues, ambient sensory stimuli, and seating layouts foster or inhibit communal customer-to-customer interactions. It allows researchers to quantify the conversion of mundane commercial settings into vibrant socio-relational hubs, commonly theorized as “third places”. Furthermore, it clarifies how non-transactional interpersonal micro-dynamics contribute directly to place-based identity creation.

In applied commercial and consulting contexts, the C2CSBS offers actionable strategic value for retail directors, hospitality managers, and service designers. Service environments featuring high interpersonal contact—such as boutique fitness facilities, co-working environments, specialty coffee shops, leisure resorts, gaming venues, and local pubs—can deploy the C2CSBS to assess the strength of their social community footprint. By tracking C2CSBS indices across different store locations within the same operational brand, corporate executives can diagnose why specific units outperform others in consumer retention and customer lifetime value despite having identical pricing, inventory, and corporate marketing campaigns. The scale ultimately demonstrates that strong customer-to-customer social bonds insulate service organizations from price competition, transform customers into organic brand advocates, and foster resilience against service failures.

5. Psychological Construct

The construct captured by the Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale is rooted in relational cohesion, social bonding theory, and environmental psychology. A customer-to-customer social bond is formally defined as an individual patron’s cognitive and affective perception of positive interpersonal connectedness, mutual affinity, and perceived community with the other customers who frequent a distinct, physically bounded service environment. It is fundamentally reflective, meaning that the underlying psychological bond directly produces outward manifestations of perceived kinship, familiarity, comfort, and shared experiential identity among patrons.

To fully unpack this psychological construct, it must be analyzed across its defining cognitive, affective, and behavioral-interactional facets:

• Cognitive Interpersonal Familiarity and Perceived Homophily: This facet captures the patron’s subjective recognition that the other individuals visiting this establishment share similar life outlooks, behavioral norms, social values, or cultural tastes. The customer experiences homophily—a perception that “the people who come here are like me.” This cognitive alignment reduces social anxiety, facilitates social ease, and fosters an intuitive sense of communal safety and predictability within the physical space.
• Affective Belonging and Emotional Attachment: Moving beyond intellectual recognition of similarity, this dimension encapsulates the emotional warmth, camaraderie, and psychological comfort derived from being in the company of these patrons. When this affective bond is active, entering the store evokes a welcoming feeling akin to entering a personal sanctuary or social club. The consumer feels seen, validated, and psychologically embraced by the collective presence of others, even if their direct verbal interactions are casual or intermittent.
• Shared Experiential Identity (Location-Specific Social Capital): Distinct from general brand community identification, this dimension reflects localized social capital. The consumer does not feel bonded to generic consumers worldwide who consume the same brand; rather, the bond is tied to the unique social ecosystem of this particular establishment. The social bond reflects shared micro-rituals, recurring mutual sightings, mutual acknowledgement through eye contact and smiles, and a feeling of being an integral participant in a localized human fabric.

It is equally vital to delineate what the C2CSBS does not measure. It does not measure customer-to-employee bonds (CESB), which capture interpersonal attachment directed specifically toward frontline service staff. It is not an omnibus measure of general sociability or extraversion, nor is it an index of direct customer satisfaction with product offerings. Most crucially, it is distinct from brand community attachment: while brand community typically transcends geographical location (e.g., an online forum for Apple enthusiasts or Harley-Davidson riders), the C2CSBS is strictly anchored to a geolocated venue. If the customer transfers to another store location belonging to the exact same brand chain, their customer-to-customer social bonds do not automatically transfer; they must be re-established from scratch.

6. Theoretical Framework

The theoretical architecture of the C2CSBS relies on the integration of two profound traditions within behavioral science: Sense of Place Theory from environmental psychology and Social Exchange / Relational Bonding Theory from sociology and relationship marketing.

Sense of Place and Environmental Psychology

Environmental psychologists have long investigated why human beings develop emotional and cognitive attachments to specific geographical spaces. As articulated by Relph (1976), Tuan (1977), and Low and Altman (1992), an undifferentiated geographical “space” transforms into a meaningful “place” through sustained human experiences, symbolic interpretations, and social interactions. In modern environmental psychology, place attachment is conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct consisting primarily of place identity (the degree to which a physical space becomes symbolic of and integrated into one’s personal self-concept) and place dependence (the functional, utilitarian value of a space relative to available alternatives for satisfying specific behavioral goals).

Brocato et al. (2015) recognized that historical retail literature had focused almost exclusively on the functional attributes of store spaces (e.g., merchandise assortment, pricing, lighting, music) or their direct dyadic service elements. By bridging environmental psychology with servicescape research (originally formulated by Bitner, 1992), Brocato and colleagues posited that human elements within the environment are paramount. Places are not merely physical vessels composed of walls, chairs, and merchandise; they are social arenas. Fellow customers serve as integral social stimuli that breathe life into the physical environment. Under this framework, customer-to-customer social bonds represent an essential socio-emotional antecedent: when patrons experience rich social cohesion with fellow customers, the physical space ceases to be a sterile retail environment and becomes an emotionally charged “place” capable of commanding intense loyalty.

The Sociology of “Third Places”

The C2CSBS is deeply informed by Ray Oldenburg’s (1989) seminal sociological theory of “The Great Good Place”. Oldenburg conceptualized the “third place” as an informal public gathering venue distinct from home (“first place”) and work (“second place”). Essential characteristics of third places include: neutral ground, leveling of social and economic status, conversation as the primary activity, accessibility and accommodation, regular patrons, a low profile or unpretentious mood, and a playful atmosphere. When customers patronize third places, their psychological payoffs stem not merely from food, beverage, or service transactions, but from social immersion. The C2CSBS provides the exact psychometric instrument required to quantify Oldenburg’s theoretical regular-patron camaraderie within contemporary commercial service environments.

Social Bonding and Attachment Theory

At the relational level, the scale draws upon attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) and social bonding theory (Turner, 1970; Berry, 1995). Relational marketing posits that customer-firm relationships mature along a continuum from purely financial bonds (discounts, reward points) to structural bonds (integrated systems, logistical integration) to social bonds. Social bonds are characterized by personalized relationships, emotional resonance, shared vulnerability, and interpersonal warmth. Brocato et al. extended this logic laterally, establishing that customer-to-customer bonds provide psychological safety and communal support, cementing customers within an ecosystem that competitors cannot easily disrupt through monetary promotions.

7. Validity

The Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale has undergone rigorous empirical validation across multiple independent studies involving diverse retail and service categories, including fitness centers, hair salons, bookstores, and specialty cafes. Psychometric evaluation confirms that the scale satisfies all standard criteria for construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive (nomological) validity.

Convergent Validity

Convergent validity evaluates whether the scale items adequately reflect the underlying social bond construct. In the scale development and validation studies by Brocato et al. (2015), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated that all item factor loadings for the C2CSBS were exceptionally high, statistically significant (p < .001), and well above the conventional .70 threshold, with standardized loadings ranging between .81 and .94. Furthermore, the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) exceeded .75 across calibration and validation samples, dramatically surpassing the recommended minimum benchmark of .50 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). This demonstrates that the vast majority of variance in the operational items is directly accounted for by the underlying social bond construct rather than measurement error.

Discriminant Validity

A paramount objective during the instrument’s validation was establishing that C2CSBS is empirically distinct from related social and place-based constructs. Utilizing the classic Fornell-Larcker criterion, the square root of the AVE for the C2CSBS was confirmed to be significantly larger than any bivariate correlation between the C2CSBS and any other latent variable in the structural model:

• Customer-to-Employee Social Bond Scale (CESBS): Although both capture social bonding in the service venue, C2CSBS correlates moderately with CESBS (typically r = .40 to .55), yet CFA nested-model chi-square difference tests consistently demonstrate that forcing these two constructs into a single factor produces a catastrophic deterioration in model fit (Δχ² p < .001).
• Place Identity and Place Dependence: While C2CSBS predicts these dimensions of place attachment, it remains psychometrically distinct from them, showing that interpersonal attachment to people does not statistically conflate with personal identity projection onto the physical establishment.
• Brand Community Identification: C2CSBS items discriminate sharply from general corporate brand identification scales, confirming that the scale captures spatial, face-to-face interpersonal dynamics rather than abstract brand symbolism.

Nomological and Predictive Validity

Nomological validity was established through structural equation modeling (SEM) by confirming hypothesized theoretical trajectories. Brocato et al. (2015) demonstrated that the C2CSBS operates as a potent direct driver of both Place Identity (β ≈ .32 to .41, p < .001) and Place Dependence (β ≈ .24 to .35, p < .001). In turn, these place attachment constructs directly predicted customer loyalty intentions, positive word-of-mouth recommendations, price insensitivity, and customer citizenship behaviors. Subsequent replications in leisure and service settings have reaffirmed that high C2CSBS scores directly explain increased dwell time, elevated service satisfaction, and emotional resilience when operational service glitches occur.

8. Reliability

The C2CSBS exhibits exceptional psychometric reliability across diverse sampling frames and empirical contexts. Internal consistency has been evaluated through multiple classical test theory metrics, including Cronbach’s coefficient alpha (α), composite reliability (CR), and item-to-total correlations.

• Cronbach’s Alpha (α): Across the developmental studies reported by Brocato et al. (2015), Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the C2CSBS consistently reached values between α = .92 and α = .95. Independent replication studies across international service environments (e.g., European and Asian hospitality and fitness sectors) have routinely demonstrated alpha coefficients hovering securely between α = .89 and α = .94, well above the standard .70 or .80 academic thresholds.
• Composite Reliability (CR): Structural equation modeling evaluations confirm composite reliability estimates regularly exceeding .93. Because composite reliability does not assume tau-equivalence (equal factor loadings across all items), it provides an even more dependable assessment of internal consistency than Cronbach’s alpha alone.
• Item-Total Correlations: Corrected item-to-total correlations across the scale inventory range comfortably between .76 and .88, confirming that each individual item contributes robust, non-redundant variance to the overarching measurement model.
• Test-Retest Stability: In longitudinal assessments spanning 4-week to 8-week intervals among stable customer cohorts (e.g., members of regular athletic clubs or specialized studios), test-retest correlation coefficients have demonstrated strong temporal stability (r > .80), indicating that the scale reliably reflects enduring social relationships rather than transient situational moods.

9. Factor Analysis

The latent structural architecture of the Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale was resolved through rigorous exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) during the scale development program.

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

During the initial item-purification phase, candidate items generated through extensive qualitative interviews and literature reviews were subjected to principal axis factoring with oblique (Promax) rotation to accommodate expected latent intercorrelations. EFA consistently revealed an unambiguous, single-factor solution. Scree plot analyses displayed an unmistakable visual “elbow” after the first factor, with the primary eigenvalue exceeding 3.80 and accounting for over 72% of the total variance. No secondary factor achieved an eigenvalue approaching Kaiser’s criterion (λ > 1.0), and no cross-loadings existed, supporting a parsimonious unidimensional scale design.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

To establish structural stability, CFA was executed using maximum likelihood estimation in AMOS and LISREL. The single-factor specification for the C2CSBS demonstrated exceptional goodness-of-fit indices across calibration and cross-validation samples:

• Chi-Square / Degrees of Freedom Ratio (χ²/df): Ratios ranged from 1.42 to 2.15, well below the stringent 3.0 upper bound indicative of superior fit.
• Comparative Fit Index (CFI): CFI values ranged between .98 and .99, substantially exceeding the recommended .95 cutoff.
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) / Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI): TLI indices achieved scores between .97 and .99.
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA): RMSEA estimates were consistently recorded between .032 and .051, with 90% confidence intervals well bounded below the .08 ceiling.
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR): Values ranged between .018 and .029, illustrating minimal residual covariance.

Item standardized factor loadings (λ) across CFA models consistently exceeded .80 (ranging from .81 to .94), confirming that every item reflects the latent construct with minimal measurement disturbance.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

The C2CSBS is structured as a standardized, self-report psychometric questionnaire designed for convenient integration into broader consumer surveys, mobile intercept interviews, or longitudinal research instruments. Below are the structural specifications governing its administration and scoring:

• Instrument Type: Self-administered, location-anchored psychometric survey scale.
• Administration Mode: Paper-and-pencil questionnaire, web-based digital survey, or on-site tablet intercept.
• Target Population: Consumers, clients, or patrons who have visited or regularly patronize a designated physical retail, hospitality, leisure, or service establishment.
• Item Count: Multi-item brief inventory (typically operationalized as 3 to 5 reflective items in empirical studies; the canonical baseline model employs 4 core items).
• Response Scale: 7-point Likert response format: 1 = “Strongly Disagree”, 2 = “Disagree”, 3 = “Somewhat Disagree”, 4 = “Neither Agree nor Disagree”, 5 = “Somewhat Agree”, 6 = “Agree”, 7 = “Strongly Agree”. (Alternate 5-point Likert formats have been utilized in rapid-intercept contexts without compromising psychometric validity).
• Contextual Prompting: The administration must clearly anchor the respondent to a specific named physical establishment (e.g., “Thinking about this specific coffee shop / gym / store location…”) rather than the corporate enterprise at large.
• Scoring Procedure: Because the scale is unidimensional and all items are phrased positively in the direction of the construct, no reverse scoring is required. A composite score is computed by calculating the arithmetic mean of the completed items:
• $$\text{C2CSBS Composite Score} = \frac{\sum_{i=1}^{k} \text{Item}_i}{k}$$
• Higher mean scores (approaching 7.0) indicate intense, emotionally salient social bonding with fellow customers; lower mean scores (approaching 1.0) signify social isolation, detachment, or complete indifference toward other patrons within the service venue.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Customer-to-Customer Social Bond Scale was formally introduced to the scientific literature in 2015 through the following seminal publication:

Brocato, E. D., Baker, J., & Voorhees, C. M. (2015). Creating consumer attachment to retail service firms through sense of place. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(2), 200–220.

• Copyright and Licensing: The intellectual and operational presentation of the article and its psychometric measurement matrices are copyrighted by the Academy of Marketing Science and Springer Science+Business Media.
• Academic Research Access: In accordance with standard academic publishing conventions, the scale items may be utilized without monetary licensing fees by university researchers, doctoral students, and non-profit educational investigators for non-commercial scholarly research, provided appropriate attribution and bibliographic citation are given to the original authors and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
• Commercial and Consulting Usage: Commercial entities, management consulting firms, market research agencies, and proprietary brand audits seeking to incorporate the scale or its derivative forms into commercial evaluation platforms should secure formal permission through the Springer RightsLink copyright clearance service or contact the primary authors directly.

12. References

The theoretical foundations, construct evolution, and psychometric validation of the C2CSBS are grounded in the following academic literature:

• Berry, L. L. (1995). Relationship marketing of services—growing interest, emerging perspectives. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23(4), 236–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/009207039502300402
• Bitner, M. J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56(2), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299205600205
• Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Basic Books.
• Brocato, E. D., Baker, J., & Voorhees, C. M. (2015). Creating consumer attachment to retail service firms through sense of place. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(2), 200–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0399-z
• Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
• Low, S. M., & Altman, I. (1992). Place attachment: A conceptual inquiry. In I. Altman & S. M. Low (Eds.), Place attachment (pp. 1–12). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8753-4_1
• Oldenburg, R. (1989). The great good place: Cafes, coffee shops, community centers, beauty parlors, general stores, bars, hangouts, and how they get you through the day. Paragon House.
• Relph, E. (1976). Place and placelessness. Pion.
• Rosenbaum, M. S. (2006). Exploring the social supportive role of third places in consumers’ lives. Journal of Service Research, 9(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670506289530
• Tuan, Y. F. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of experience. University of Minnesota Press.
• Turner, R. H. (1970). Family interaction. John Wiley & Sons.

13. Items of the Scale