Development of a biodata index to measure service-orientation

In 1984 Hogan, Hogan, and Busch defined service-orientation as "the disposition to be helpful, thoughful, considerate, and cooperative" (p. 167). As a measure they developed the Service Orientation Index, a 92-item true-false questionnaire. The present study tested whether a biographical inventory could also be used to measure the construct of service-orientation. Subjects were given the biographical inventory and the Index to predict their service-oriented performance in a simulated interaction with a customer. Scores on the Service orientation Index were significantly correlated with scores on tow biographical scales, Sociability and the Need to make a good impression. The correlations, .24 and .27, were as high as those obtained by Hogan, et al. The Index scores were also significantly correlated with the criterion. Subjects with high scores on Sociability and the Need to make a good impression had the highest rating on service-orientation. Implications for research and aplications of these results are mentioned.