The use of the latent constructs method in behavioral accounting research: The measurement of client advocacy

Abstract

This article presents procedures that can be followed in behavioral research when indirect measures are needed for a variable of interest. It is hoped that these procedures will be used to develop a database of scales that can increase generalizability across accounting studies. The suggested framework was used to develop a measure of client advocacy, an important construct when studying the judgments and decisions of tax professionals. This measure of client advocacy may be defended for both its reliability and its validity, and the usefulness of this scale is illustrated in two studies. Davis and Mason (1997) tested whether different levels of advocacy affected judgments of similarity in tax authority evaluation. Including advocacy allowed for a more specific interpretation of their results. Measuring advocacy at two points allowed Levy (1996) to examine whether advocacy is an inherent attitude or can be influenced by other variables, such as client preferences.

Citation

Mason, J.D. and Garrett Levy, L. (2001), "The use of the latent constructs method in behavioral accounting research: The measurement of client advocacy", Advances in Taxation (Advances in Taxation, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 123-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1058-7497(01)13009-7