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Response style effects due to question items, answer formats, and cultural factors have gained considerable attention in marketing research. However, the published work in this field only addresses effects based on measurements in the realm of Likert-type answer formats. This study sheds light on the variations in estimated response style effects using conventional rating-based agreement/disagreement scales and contrasting them with confirmation/disconfirmation scales typically applied to service quality measurement. An empirical study within the passenger airline industry highlights substantial differences using ANOVA analysis. They are partly due to different item scales used as the basis for calculating response styles, partially due to the scale types, and are almost independent from language (cultural) differences. In general, the results give initial directions for calculating response style effects, which, nevertheless, merits more experimental testing.

Research explaining host community residents' attitudes towards tourism receives continuous attention and its scope is broadening constantly. This study aims at contributing to the body of knowledge about the systematic variation and change of these attitudes. For this reason, the concept of social distance is introduced into the tourism context. As a first attempt, a Guttman-type scale with Thurstone characteristics was developed and purified in two countries: New Zealand and Austria. In both countries independent surveys were conducted to validate the scale formation. The contribution to explaining residents' attitudes was very fruitful in the Austrian example but less clear in the New Zealand example. Whether or not different stages of tourism development are responsible for these differences cannot be entirely concluded from only two surveys.