PERCEPTION OF CHILDREN'S INFLUENCE ON FAMILY DECISION PROCESSES

While several studies have examined the roles of husbands and wives in making decisions about products, few have examined the impact of children. This article reports the results of a 1985 study of the influence of children on families. The study examines children's influence in each of four st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer marketing 1987-01, Vol.4 (1), p.25-38
Main Authors: Swinyard, William R., Peng Sim, Cheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children & youth
Consumption
Decision making
Family
Influence
Studies
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Summary:While several studies have examined the roles of husbands and wives in making decisions about products, few have examined the impact of children. This article reports the results of a 1985 study of the influence of children on families. The study examines children's influence in each of four stages of the purchase decision, for 25 products, and by age of the children. For child-centered (e.g., toys, children's clothing, food) and child-used products or services (e.g., vacations, restaurant choices, outside entertainment), the study shows that children are perceived as influential by most households. Older children are perceived as more influential than younger children for nearly all the products studied. The study concludes that "family" decision making is quite different from "husband-wife" decision making.
ISSN:0736-3761
2052-1200
DOI:10.1108/eb008186