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"In der Empirischen Sozialforschung finden in Europa Telefoninterviews anstelle von face to face-Interviews zunehmende Verbreitung. Im Rahmen der zweimal jährlich für die Europäische Kommission in Brüssel durchgeführten Repräsentativbefragungen in den Mitgliedsländern der Europäischen Union, den sogenannten Eurobarometern, ergab sich für die Erhebung vom Frühjahr 1994 (EB 41.0) die Möglichkeit, durch eine zeitgleich mit einem weitgehend identischen Fragenprogramm stattfindende Telefonbefragung in den damaligen zwölf Mitgliedsländern der EU, systematisch Effekte der unterschiedlichen Stichprobenansätze und Erhebungsmethoden zu untersuchen. Dabei konnte das Analysespektrum noch durch eine Telefon-Panelkomponente in dreien der zwölf EU-Länder für das face to face-Eurobarometer erweitert werden. Die Beiträge im vorliegenden Buch untersuchen auf dieser Grundlage methodische und methodologische Fragestellungen, die insbesondere für die international vergleichende Sozialforschung, aber auch für die Markt- und Meinungsforschung in Europa von großer Bedeutung sind." (Autorenreferat). Inhaltsverzeichnis: Max Kaase, Willem E. Saris: The Eurobarometer - a tool for comparative survey research (5-23); Peter Schubert, Angelika Greil: Sample design and consequences (24-31); Sabine Häder, Siegfried Gabler: Deviations from the population and optimal weights (32-44); Jürgen Lass: Telephone ownership - a cause of sampling bias in Europe? (45-63); Jürgen Lass, Willem E. Saris, Max Kaase: Sizes of the different effects: coverage, mode and nonresponse (64-74); Willem E. Saris, Jacques A. Hagenaars: Mode effects in the standard Eurobarometer questions (75-88); Hermann Schmitt, Peter Schrott, Michaela Thoma: Mode effects on open-ended agenda questions (89-99); Hans-Dieter Klingemann: The left-right self-placement question in face to face and telephone surveys (100-110); Willem E. Saris: Comparability across mode and country (111-125); Willem E. Saris: Adjustment for differences between face to face and telephone interviews (126-141); Willem E. Saris, Max Kaase: Summary and discussion (142-154).

This contribution deals with measurement instruments - that is, questionnaires and individual items - employed in international survey research. By international surveys we mean cross-national comparative studies whose concept, implementation, and organisation are shaped by the comparability requirement. We begin by focussing on general aspects of the comparability of international surveys. In the case of problems that occur in all surveys - for example sampling-related problems and nonresponse - we refer the reader to the corresponding thematic contributions in the Survey Guidelines and to the literature. We make a distinction between ensuring the comparability of measurement instruments ex-ante and ex-post - that is, before or after the actual survey is, or has been, conducted. Comparability is established ex ante by means of pretests, for example; it is established ex post within the framework of the data analysis or additional studies. We focus in particular on question translation.

Purpose
Well-founded measurements are of high value because a better connection between business process management (BPM) and maturity models (MMs) improves an organization's performance. Although MMs are appropriate tools for organizations to manage their business processes and, therefore, enjoy popularity, most of these models suffer from their foundation, validation and/or capability coverage. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue by providing metrics to measure and manage business processes.


Design/methodology/approach
A high-standard and multistaged procedure was followed to systematically develop and validate the measurement instrument involving international academics and practitioners across four continents. Different rounds were used for item identification, item selection, item revision, instrument preparation (pretest and pilot) and instrument application using partial least squares structural equation modeling.


Findings
The instrument measures 4 main capability areas, 13 subareas and 62 items. The work explains how to conduct BPM assessments in a more theoretically sound way and reports on the instrument's development to show high levels of construct validity, content validity and reliability.


Research limitations/implications
The author provides a rigorous and more evidence-based instrument, facilitating the BPM discipline's need of empirical research.


Practical implications
The author proposes parameters to configure the instrument.


Originality/value
Serving as a reference framework, the instrument strengthens BPM's empirical and theoretical foundations. Since the instrument is free for scholars and practitioners, the author illustrates the research streams and business situations in which the instrument can be applied (in full or in part). This paper paves the way for transforming the instrument into an optimization MM with advice or improvement paths, bridging the gap between theory and practice.

PurposeThe ten principles of good business process management (BPM) support organizations in planning and scoping the organizations' BPM approach. Derived from literature and expert panels, the principles received much attention both in research and practice. This article develops a measurement instrument to operationalize the principles and to support organizations in measuring the degree to which they incorporate the principles in their BPM approach, that way advancing their BPM capabilities.Design/methodology/approachThe authors applied the scale-development methodology, because this methodology is an established approach consisting of various techniques to develop measurement instruments. First, the authors used established techniques to develop such an instrument. Then, the authors assessed the validity and reliability of the developed instrument through a field survey with 345 participants.FindingsThe authors developed a valid and reliable measurement instrument for the ten principles of good BPM. The field survey's results reveal that the measurement instrument meets all required methodological standards. The instrument, thus, can be applied to help process owners and managers to evaluate their BPM approach and plan future actions based on potential shortcomings. Future research can both use and further develop the instrument, which serves as a conceptualization of the principles.Originality/valueThis study is the first to provide a measurement instrument for assessing an organizations' BPM practice against the ten principles of good BPM, which have become established as a much-considered and widely-used source of reference both in academia and practice. The authors also discuss how the instrument compares to and distinguishes from existing approaches to qualify BPM approaches, thus communicating the significance of the instrument.

Purpose – This study aims at a better understanding of communication quality and how it can be measured in the municipal context. A previously developed instrument for measuring communication in municipalities was tested and evaluated. Design/methodology/approach - The instrument draws on the balanced scorecard of Kaplan and Norton and quality control procedures as utilised by the European Foundation of Quality Measurement. For municipalities, communication quality can be defined as the degree to which communication contributes towards the effectiveness of municipal policy and how it strengthens the relationship between citizens and municipal organisations. Three communication functions are given, and for each function seven quality criteria, for example responsiveness, are defined. The latter serve as an umbrella for several indicators that are assessed on a Likert scale. The results for four municipalities in the Netherlands are presented and compared, and the instrument is evaluated. Findings – The Corporate communication scores were relatively high while the Policy communication scores were low. Of the quality criteria, Accessibility and Publicity scored high and Responsiveness low. The instrument has mainly been developed on the basis of auditor and self-assessment, as municipalities have, as yet, few facts and figures with which to support the assessment. The measurement instrument needs to be integrated in the organisation's planning cycle, as reflection on the results can help in implementing improvements in quality. The measurement process stimulates dialogue on communication quality and the priorities to be set for communication policy. Research limitations – The study is based on four cases. The instrument needs to be tested across a range of governmental-level organisations. Practical implications - Municipalities can use this instrument to improve the added value of communication. Originality/value - A detailed description of the results of applying an instrument, such as the present one, developed for assessing communication quality, has not yet been published. ; peerReviewed

Es wird auf die methodische Absicherung der Übersetzung der in den USA entwickelten 'social life feeeling scales' (12 allgemeine Einstellungsskalen und 2 Skalen zur Erfassung der sozialen Wünschbarkeit) eingegangen. Im Rahmen des Projektes 'Interkulturelle Skalenentwicklung' wurden die Items von Fachkräften ins Deutsche übersetzt. Anhand von Hinweisen aus einem Pretest wurden die Itemformulierungen überarbeitet und dann in einer Pilot-Studie angewendet. Da die Reliabilitätskoeffizienten hieraus niedriger als bei der amerikanischen Studie ausfielen, wurde eine Rückübersetzung blind durchgeführt, d.h. es lagen jeweils nur die deutschen Fassungen vor. Die Übereinstimmung der hieraus resultierenden beiden englischen Fassungen wurde nach einem festen Schema beurteilt. Bei 40 Prozent der Items ergab sich, daß sie nicht funktional gleichwertig übersetzt worden waren. Bei nochmals sorgfältiger Übertragung dieser Items ins Deutsche kann die 'face validity' (Augenscheinvalidität) weiter verbessert werden. Der empirische Test hierfür soll nach nochmaligen Pretest an einer repräsentativen Stichprobe von Personen erfolgen. (OH)