An article on the equivalence failures in multicultural comparative research co-authored by Professor Emeritus Earl Honeycutt was named the 2013 Best Article.
The abstract reads:
An experiment using a probability sample of 263 U.S. consumers was conducted to document the psychometric effects of translation error on a semantic differential scale. The results demonstrate that data distributions and response styles are significantly altered as a result of mistranslation (inequivalence). Unexpectedly, results show attenuation of equivalent items when inequivalent items are present in a scale. This threatens the validity and reliability of cross-cultural scales that suffer equivalence failure. The authors recommend that simple nonparametric diagnostics be employed to detect translation/back-translation errors and that an iterative process of cross-cultural research be adopted when translation inequivalence is detected. Implications for researchers and practitioners are offered, as well as a discussion of limitations of the study.
The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice (JMTP) is devoted to the publication of peer-reviewed articles addressing substantive, managerial issues in marketing.
Honeycutt was a professor of marketing at Elon from 2002-2012. During his time at Elon, he served as the first director of the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center, received Elon University’s Distinguished Scholar Award and was named the first Martha and Spencer Love Term Professor in 2011.