The Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Interest in Self-Marketisation Online

Abstract

In today’s digital era, a strong online presence is not just desirable, but often lucrative. Our study elaborates on the development and validation of the Interest in Self-Marketisation Online (ISMO) scale, designed to measure how individuals perceive their online persona as a valuable asset. Drawing upon existing literature, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and three quantitative surveys, we established the ISMO scale as a reliable and valid instrument. An adult Romanian quota sample (n=822) was utilised for the confirmatory stage of the study. The reliability and validity of the scale were tested successfully on an adult USA quota sample (n= 280). Findings revealed ISMO to be significantly influenced by attributes like materialism, self-monitoring, sincerity, and entrepreneurship. Moreover, it emerged as a powerful predictor of Facebook dependency, the number of online social networks one engages with, and the time spent on these platforms. Our study breaks new ground in understanding online self-marketisation (SMO), a concept that embodies the intersections of identity, self-presentation, and commercialisation in the digital age. From a practical perspective, measuring individuals’ interest in self-marketisation online offers valuable insights into future self-conceptualisation and personal branding strategies, reflecting our growing immersion in the digital world.