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George J. Szybillo, Arlene Sosanie (1977), "FAMILY DECISION MAKING: HUSBAND,Online
WIFE AND CHILDREN", in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 04, eds. William
D. Perreault, Jr., Atlanta : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 46-49. Call for Papers
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Advances in Consumer Research Volume 4, 1977 Pages 46-49
Experts Speak
FAMILY DECISION MAKING: HUSBAND, WIFE AND CHILDREN
Renew
George J. Szybillo, New York University
Membership
Arlene Sosanie, New York University
ABSTRACT - For Consumers
Family decision making research has frequently examined role relationships between For Marketers
Contact/Feedback
husbands and wives across stages in the buying process end buying subdecisions, In
ACR Office contrast to previous research this study examines how family role relationships, For Public Policy
ACR Board of inclusive of children, vary over stages in the buying process end buying subdecisions. Makers
Directors Contrasts are made to related studies and the results are discussed in relation to For Researchers
ACR Advisory communication and media strategies.
Board For Teaching
INTRODUCTION
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For PhD Students
Research on family roles in buying decisions is becoming of increasing interest to those
Web Editor
Newsletter Editor engaged in the marketing of goods and services. Advertising account executives and For the Press
copywriters often seek information on how family members are involved in buying
decisions so that they may present portrayals of buying decision processes. MarketingTransformative
managers request information on family member involvement in buying subdecisions,Consumer
such as color offerings and price evaluation, to assist them in development of productResearch
offerings and special promotions. Media analysts, planning the selection of media
vehicles, question whether family member involvement varies between the stages of
information collection and purchase. The literature in consumer behavior referred to as
family decision making (Time, 1967) or family purchasing roles (Cunningham end
Green, 1974) provides information, albeit often incomplete information, on these
issues. One factor contributing to this situation is the way family role structure is
frequently conceptualized end measured. The study reported here addresses this
problem and that related to generalization across similar product or service category
definitions.
Academic end commercial research studies have investigated how family member
involvement varies over stages within buying decision processes (Davis and Rigaux,
1974; Hempel, 1974; Starch end Staff, 1958; Life, 1965; Time, 1967; Haley, Overholser
end Associates, 1975), subdecisions within a product or service decision (Davis, 1970;
Hempel, 1974; Cunningham and Green, 1974; Green end Cunningham, 1975; Starch
and Staff, 1958; Haley, Overholser and Associates, 1975), and subdecisions and decision
stages across product and service categories (Davis, 1970; Davis and Rigaux, 1974;
Ferber and Lee, 1974; Life, 1965; Haley, Overholser end Associates, 1975). For example,
Life (1965) found that across stages in the decision process wives were more involved
then husbands in recognizing a family need for orange juice and purchasing orange
juice, while both husbands and wives collected information about orange juice. Davis
(1970) found that across automobile subdecisions wives were more involved than
husbands with selecting an automobile color while husbands were more involved than
wives in determining when to buy an automobile. This and related research has been
summarized in a series of published review articles end reports (Davis, 1972; Granbois,
1972; Ferber, 1973; Sheth, 1974; Haley, Overholser and Associates, 1975). The results of
these studies argue against generalizing about family member involvement in family
decision making.
There are, however, factors which limit the application of these research findings; two
of which are the breadth of family role structure categories offered to respondents and
generalized product and service category definitions. Prior research has investigated
"family" decision making for a number of product and service categories including
cookies, ice cream, peanut butter, pudding, cereals, chewing gum, family vacations,
children's clothes and hamburgers from fast food restaurants. However, as Davis (1976,
p. 248) notes, "the 'family' in most studies of household decision making is in reality
just the husband and wife." Reasons for focusing on the husband end wife dyad as the
family decision making unit in these studies may include researcher intuition, desire to
avoid complicated role structure measures where more then two people are involved as
the decision making unit end desire for comparability of research (Davis, 1976). Yet,
family role structure or family member influence categories provided to respondents
should depend on the nature of family interaction associated with the products or
services being investigated. Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell (1973, p. 204) state: "Many
role structure studies probably grossly underestimate the influence of children, and
research approaches sufficiently comprehensive to account for their influence have not
appeared in the public literature end therefore need to be designed end tested."
From another perspective, few research professionals would ask such general questions
as "Who usually is involved in your family's decision to purchase carbonated soft
drinks?" Greater emphasis on family member influence in product subdecisions would
be recommended (Davis, 1970; Engel, Kollat and Blackwell, 1973; Hempel, 1974). This
specificity does not appear to have generalized to definitions of products and services in
many studies. For example, asking who was most influential in the brand decision for
non-diet carbonated soft drinks end diet carbonated soft drinks separately rather than
carbonated soft drinks is more the exception than the rule (Haley, Overholser end
Associates, 1975). To the extent that respondents answer general product or service
category questions with different products or services within the category as a frame of
reference, one could anticipate answers that would be inappropriate for any product or
service within the category. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine
how family role structures, inclusive of children, vary over subdecisions end stages in
the buying process for service decisions which could be considered within a generic
service category.
METHOD
Respondents
The data used to examine family role structures in buying decisions was gathered from
a survey of married couples with children in the New York City area. Three hundred end
forty self-administered questionnaires were distributed in three schools in the borough
of Queens. One hundred and ninety questionnaires were returned with usable
responses. Two facets of the sample deserve further consideration, respondent selection
end sample characteristics.
Researchers (Davis, 1971; Engel, Kollat and Blackwell, 1973) have argued that family
role structure responses from either spouse are adequate if one's purpose is to describe
behavior on an aggregate basis. Davis (1971) explored family role structures for twelve
consumer decisions based on responses from husbands and wives. Similar distributions
of role categories for the twelve decisions were obtained from husbands and wives on
an aggregate basis even though there was some disagreement within family members
on an individual family basis. In that the analyses of this study were proposed at the
group level and question structure was similar to that of previous studies (Davis, 1970;
1971), responses were sought only from wives.
Households range in age from the twenties to the sixties; with 39% in their thirties,
40% in their forties, and 15% in their fifties. All of the families have at least one child
five years of age or older. Of all the families, 17% have one child, 45% have two children,
and 38% have three or more children. The families are fairly well educated with 91% of
the wives completing a high school degree and 60% of the husbands and 42% of the
wives having a college degree. Finally, the economic character of the households is
upscale with a median income of $30,000; partially determined by the high percentage
of working wives (56%).
Procedure
For the purpose of this study, decisions were sought that would be capable of reflecting
a full range of family role structures. Further, decisions were sought that would be
comparable across services within a generic service category (e.g., family outings).
Respondents were subsequently asked family role structure questions regarding their
families' last decisions to have dinner at a fast food restaurant and to go on a one day
family trip.
Among the tasks in the study were two tables for each service decision. The first two-
way table for each service listed stages of decision making as row elements and family
member involvement categories as column elements. A three stage decision process
similar to that used by Davis and Rigaux (1974) was employed. Decision stages common
across service decisions included: (1) initiation of purchase idea, (2) obtain and provide
information on alternatives, and (3) final decision.
The second two-way table for each service decision listed subdecisions as row elements
and family member involvement categories as column elements. Subdecisions common
across service decisions included: (1) when to go, (2) what type of service to go to (e.g.,
fast food - hamburgers, fish and chips, pizza, or family trip -beach, zoo, etc.), (3) what
service to go to (e.g., fast food - McDonald', Burger King, etc., or family trip - Bronx
Zoo, Central Park Zoo, etc.), and (4) how much to spend.
Family Member Involvement Categories
The measures of this study were different from those used in previous studies in that
decision involvement was measured for the following family member designations:
husband, wife, and child/children. For each family member designation, the
respondent indicated on a three point scale whether the member was not involved,
moderately involved, or very involved. This report looks primarily at the presence or
absence of family member involvement by combining scores given by respondents into
the following response categories: (1) husband, (2) wife, (3) husband and wife (referred
to here as adult only categories), (4) child/children, (5) husband and child or (6) wife
and child (referred to here as adult with child), and (7) husband, wife, and
child/children (referred to here as complete family). Here we are simply looking at
trends; no overall statistical test wag used because no single test was uniquely
appropriate.
RESULTS
The data in Table 1 indicates the percentages associated with family role structures
across decision stages within each type of service decision. Different role structures
characterize the decision stages within services. For the decision stages associated with
the fast food restaurant decision the data indicates that there is a marked trend away
from adult only or children only role structures toward adult with children or complete
family role categories. For each of the decision stages, at least 82% of all role structures
were adult with child and complete family categories. In contrast to this finding, the
data for the family trip decision indicates a split between adult only and complete
family role categories. For each of the decision stages associated with the family trip
decision at least 40% of all role structures were adult only structures; primarily joint
decision making between husband and wife. Role structure categories showed little
variation over decision stages for each of the service decisions.
TABLE 1
FAMILY ROLE STRUCTURES ACROSS DECISION STAGES WITHIN SERVICE
DECISIONS
The data presented in Table 2 highlights the difference between role structures for the
service decisions within each decision stage. Within each decision stage the data
indicates more husband and wife involvement for the family trip decision than the fast
food restaurant decision. The difference for husband and wife decision making between
the two service decisions within any decision stage being at least 27%. The data also
indicates greater adult with child and complete family role categories within each
decision stage for the fast food restaurant decision in comparison to the family trip
decision. The difference between the two service decisions being at least 24% for each
comparison within a decision stage when all adult with child and complete family
responses are combined.
TABLE 2
FAMILY ROLE STRUCTURES ACROSS SERVICE DECISIONS WITHIN DECISION
STAGES
The data in Table 3 indicates that family role structures vary across subdecisions within
each type of service decision. For the subdecisions associated with the fast food
restaurant decision the data indicates, with the exception of "how much to spend," a
greater percentage of role structures being adult with child and complete family
categories. At least 72% of the role structure categories are adult with child and
complete family for the subdecisions preceding "how much to spend." For the
subdecision "how much to spend" there is greater percentage of adult only role
structures; 60% of all role structures being joint decision making structures between
husband and wife.
TABLE 3
FAMILY ROLE STRUCTURES ACROSS SUBDECISIONS WITHIN SERVICE
DECISIONS
The data for the family trip decision indicates greater variation in role structure
predominance across subdecisions than that for the fast food decision. The "When to
go" subdecision is characterized as predominantly a complete family decision (58%) or
a husband and wife decision (33%). For the "type of service" and "what service"
subdecisions at least 80% of all role structures are characterized as complete family.
For the subdecision "how much to spend" 82% of the role structure categories were
adult only; 73% of all role structure categories being joint decision making between
husband and wife.
The data in Table 4 highlights the differences between role structures for the service
decisions within each subdecision. For the "when to go" subdecision there was greater
husband and wife decision making for the family trip decision (33%) than husband and
wife decision making for the fast food restaurant decision (23%). The "what type of
service," "what service" and "how much to spend" subdecisions show little variation
between role structure categories for the different services. For the "how much to
spend" subdecision there was greater husband and wife joint decision making for the
family trip decision (73%) than the fast food restaurant decision (60%).
TABLE 4
FAMILY ROLE STRUCTURES ACROSS SERVICE DECISIONS WITHIN
SUBDECISIONS
DISCUSSION
This research used direct questions about family member involvement. This approach
assumes that respondents can recall accurately who was involved in past decision
making and are willing to acknowledge it to themselves and others (Davis and Rigaux,
1974). While these assumptions are questionable, others have argued that direct
questions represent the best "interim approach" for identifying family role structures
(Davis and Rigaux, 1974; Engel, Kollat and Blackwell, 1973).
Also, like many other studies of family member involvement (Davis, 1970; Davis and
Rigaux, 1974; Starch and Staff, 1958) the data for this study was collected from a
sample with distinct demographic characteristics. In light of past research relating
demographics to family role structure, one could expect changes in role structure
predominance with changes in demographic characteristics (Engel, Kollat, and
Blackwell, 1973). Although these factors limit the generalizability of the results, the
research represents an exploration of concepts related to service category definitions
and extended family role structures which can later be used in larger survey research
studies. The discussion which follows should be considered in context of these factors.
While family role structure predominance was found to vary little over stages in the
decision process, the service decisions were characterized by different forms of family
member involvement. For the marketer interested in portraying family member
involvement in the process of arriving at a fast food restaurant decision the data
indicates a high degree of adult and child interaction for all stages of the process;
initiation of the purchase idea, provision of information on alternatives and the final
decision. For each stage of the process at least 82% of the family role structures were
characterized as having adult and child interaction. This suggests that communication
should portray adults with children or the family as an entity, showing group discussion
and activities between all family members. This implication is not evident in the data
from previous published research examining family role structure for the service
utilizing adult only measurements (Haley, Overholser, and Associates, 1975).
The family role structures for the stages in the family trip decision were also
characterized by adult and child involvement. However, the adult and child interaction
for each decision stage was not as pronounced as that for the fast food restaurant
decision. Family role structure was found to vary by type of service within decision
stages. At least 34% of all role categories for each decision stage in
the family trip buying process were represented as husband and
wife joint decision making. This would suggest that
communications be developed indicating both full family
involvement and husband and wife joint decision making.
The results from the comparison of role structures across service decisions within
subdecisions provide an indication of where husband and wife joint discussion would
be prevalent for the family trip decision. For the "how much to spend" subdecision
there is greater husband and wife joint decision making for the family trip decision in
comparison to the fast food restaurant decision. Although price promotion would
probably be directed to both husbands and wives for both decisions this would appear
to be more important for the family trip decision.
The overall pattern of results from the decision stage comparisons suggests that
different media approaches be taken for the service decisions. The fast food restaurant
decision would appear to be mere of an "all in the family" type of decision than the
family trip decision. This would be supported by the greater adult and child interaction
for the fast food restaurant decision across each decision stage. Implications for
promotion allocation between adults and children are difficult to draw from previous
research which has not included children in family role category designations
(Cunningham and Green, 1974; Haley, Overholser, and Associates, 1975).
From a research perspective, the results of this study suggest that greater attention be
given to product or service category definitions and expanded conceptualizations of
family role structure. The service differences found here by stages in the decision
process would argue that marketers design their research to be product or service
specific. General category descriptions may imply general strategies which are unsuited
for specific types of products or services.
In conclusion, this research indicates that future investigations should consider the
potential involvement of children in family decision making. Too often have researchers
referred to husband and wife decision making. research as family decision making.
Future research attention should be given to exploring different methodologies for
measuring family role structure, factors predictive of family role structure, and the
effects of family role structure on household buying behavior.
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H. L. Davis, "Measurement of Husband-Wife Influence in Consumer Purchase
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H. L. Davis, "Household Decision Making," Working Paper 972-41, University of
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H. L. Davis, "Decision Making Within the Household," Journal of Consumer Research
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