Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
 
DISCUSSION
This study involved the development and validation of an instrument that measures the level of consumers’ 
experience via products or services. Evidence regarding the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the experience 
measures were established through EFA, CFA, and multiple group analysis in SEM in sequence. At first, EFA 
provided dimensionality of the experience construct. Seven factors were identified: Sales environment, driving 
benefit, shopping convenience, Accessibility, Utility, Incentive, and Brand trust. Each factor had satisfactorily high 
reliability greater than .70. Through EFA, items of experience were refined to 39 items from 126 items accounting 
for 59% of total variances. Subsequently, CFA was employed to confirm the dimensionality of the first order 
experience factors. Consistent with EFA analysis, the experience measures were found to be positively related to 
each of seven factors. Thus, the results of CFA supported that of EFA. More importantly, CFA provides a more 
rigorous interpretation of dimensionality than is provided by the EFA indicating stronger factor loadings and higher 
reliability. Further, CFA results in a more parsimonious model with 26 items from 39 items of EFA. Parsimony is an 
important goal to make empirical study easier (Kline, 1998). Convergent validity and discriminant validity were 
demonstrated by factor loadings and correlations between factors in CFA model respectively. Cross validity was 
further evidenced by testing invariance of factor loadings between two groups (the first-split 
vs.
the second-split 
sample).
Implications 
This study emphasized that today’s business has moved out of the service economy and toward the 
experience economy. Pine and Gilmore (1999) explained that businesses no longer should be mere suppliers, but 
should be stagers of events designed to be experienced, since customers now demand memorable experiences. They 
suggested that businesses wishing to enter the experience economy should first get their act together by customizing 

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