Development, Validation, and Application of a Scale to Measure the Impact of the Internet on Market Structure and Competition in the Retail Pharmacy Market

ABSTRACTA scale to examine the impact of the Internet on market structure and competition in the community pharmacy market was developed using the theoretical framework of Porter. A national survey of independent pharmacy managers/owners was conducted. Exploratory factor analysis, coefficient alpha, item-total correlations, and confirmatory factor analysis were used for scale construction and validation. The final market competitive structure scale had 18 items and 5 subscales consistent with Porter's framework. The overall scale reliability was 0.80. Subscale reliabilities ranged from 0.70 to 0.88. The Internet was perceived to have caused an increase in competition in the industry through increases in intensity of rivalry, threat of substitutes, and bargaining power of buyers. The Internet was perceived to have decreased bargaining power of suppliers and threat of new entrants. Although, overall, the Internet was perceived as having increased competition, it was perceived to have slightly increased the ...