Abstract
This article presents the development and validation of the Neoliberal Ideological Beliefs Questionnaire (NLBQ), a novel measure designed to analyze neoliberal ideological beliefs specifically within the context of work and employment. The NLBQ is theoretically grounded in the distinction of three fundamental political neoliberal logics: individualism, instrumentality, and competition. To evaluate its psychometric properties, factorial, and construct validity, the NLBQ was administered to four convenience samples of altogether N = 4075 participants from Austria and Germany (Study 1: n = 664; Study 2: n = 458; Study 3: n = 559; Study 4: n = 2394). The initial 90-item pool, developed through extensive group discussions and iterative testing, was reduced to a final 18-item version through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA). The four studies confirmed the three-dimensional structure of the NLBQ and demonstrated its convergent and incremental validity by computing bivariate and partial correlations with established scales measuring related constructs, such as neoliberal beliefs analyzed with an alternative measure (Neoliberal Beliefs Inventory), ideologies of market competition and shareholder interest, economic system justification, political left–right self-placement, social dominance orientation, dark triad personality, and group-focused enmity. The final 18-item version demonstrated satisfactory fit indices across all four samples. Finally, we derived a 9-item short version, which also showed strong psychometric properties.
Public Significance Statement
This article introduces the Neoliberal Ideological Beliefs Questionnaire (NLBQ), a tool to measure neoliberal beliefs related to work and employment by asking for the level of agreement to 18 statements addressing three aspects of neoliberalism: individualism, instrumentality, competition. Four studies confirm the NLBQ’s reliability and validity. The NLBQ can be used for the empirical investigation of how neoliberal ideologies shape individuals’ experiences and behaviors within and beyond the work domain.