Development of a survey instrument to examine consumer adoption of broadband

Purpose To describe the development of a survey instrument designed to measure consumer perceptions of the broadband adoption within the UK households. Design/methodology/approach A survey research approach was employed to achieve overall aim and following three objectives of this research: to identify initial items that may help to explain the broadband adoption behaviour and determine them employing an exploratory survey approach; to confirm the representativeness of items to a particular construct domain employing content validity approach; and finally, to test the instrument in order to confirm the reliability of items and construct validity. Findings The final outcome of the instrument development process that culminated from the confirmatory study was a parsimonious, 39‐item instrument, consisting of ten scales, all with acceptable levels of content validity, reliability and construct validity. Practical implications The developed instrument is relevant to both academic and practitioner communities who hold a particular interest in the study and management of broadband adoption from the household consumer perspective. Originality/value The most conspicuous contribution of the paper is to provide a reliable instrument that is fundamental to measure the household consumer's perceptions of adopting broadband internet.