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Dimensions of Buying Roles in Family Decision-making

Article in IIMB Management Review · December 2003

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 Dimensions of Buying Roles
in Family Decision-making
D P S Verma and Sheetal Kapoor
K
nowledge about buyer behaviour is
necessary for the development of effective
marketing strategies. Members in a family
influence the decision-making process in the pur-
chase of different products, especially high-value
items, such as consumer durables that are used by
several members in the family. Therefore, the real
target for the marketer is not an individual member
but the family as a whole 1 . This paper is an attempt
to capture the dynamics of the family decision-mak-
ing process in the purchase of durable products.
A traditional family in India is different from a West-
ern family in that the ‘empty nest’ stage of the fam-
ily life cycle is not very common2. A large number of
Indian families still have three generations staying
together. The decision-making process for the pur-
chase of consumer durables is quite elaborate, as
many members with their diverse views are involved
it. At the same time, the characteristics of Indian
families are changing under the influence of exter-
nal factors such as liberalisation and media explo-
sion. Indian families are presently in a state of flux,
shifting from being strictly hierarchical to more
egalitarian in character.
There have been several studies on family dynam-
ics in decision-making. Davis’s study on the rela-
tive influence of the husband and the wife in the
purchase of automobiles and living room furniture,
conducted among 100 families living in four Chi-
cago suburbs, revealed considerable variability in
the husband-wife roles and differing perceptions
among husbands and wives as to who had the
IIMB Management Review, December 2003
greater influence 3. Wolgast’s investigation revealed
that in the American family, economic decisions were
most commonly made jointly by husbands and
wives. There also seemed to be an implicit division
of responsibility, growing more pronounced with
increasing age and the length of the marriage. For
example, the husband played a major role in plan-
ning car purchases, and the wife in planning home-
appliance purchases 4 . Using Davis’s study as the
basis of measuring the role of each partner in deci-
sion making, Shuptrine and Samuelson concluded
that each partner recognised his/her role and the
role of his/her partner very clearly. To the marketer
the data shows that sales appeals based on spouse
differentiation for various product attributes are
justified 5.
Several studies indicate the growing influence of
children on their parents’ purchase behaviour in a
wide variety of product ranges 6 , not just in their
own purchases but also those made by the family
unit 7.
Davis and Rigaux explored the relative influence of
the husband and the wife during three major phases
in purchasing, namely, problem recognition, the
search for information and the final decision and
noted a greater tendency for joint input during the
problem recognition stage 8. Cunningham and Green
noted the occurrence of a basic change in market
composition. Automobile purchase, formerly male
dominated, appears to be increasingly becoming a
joint decision in the family 9. Mowen also found out
that there are multiple roles enacted within a
7
household’s buying process. Some roles are more
important than others depending on the product and
situation. Also, it is possible for the same person to
play all the roles or for many members to be in-
volved at various stages 10. Blood and Wolfe found
that husband-dominance in household decision-
making is directly related to the cultural norms of
the society, more so with the husband’s income,
education and occupation 11 .
Family Buying Roles: A Study
A study on family buying behaviour was conducted
by the authors, which unlike some of the earlier
studies, included all the members of the family in
its scope. The survey included families living in
Delhi who had recently purchased one of six du-
rable products, namely, an audio system, a car, a
personal computer, a refrigerator, a television and a
washing machine. Those members who had played
a particular buying role in the family purchase deci-
sion were counted as respondents. In keeping with
Ferber’s observation, each family member’s reply
was treated as an individual opinion rather than part
of a collective one 12.
The data was collected with the help of a question-
naire (see box), which was analysed through appro-
priate statistical techniques. The conclusive impli-
cations were used for the purpose of formulating
appropriate marketing strategies.
Findings and Analysis
The roles played by members of the family varied
with demographic parameters as well as with the
types of products. This variation can be observed
both within a role and across roles. Some members
were found to be more active only in certain roles.
The Chi-square test was used to ascertain whether
a significant relationship existed between the vari-
ables in a cross tabulation. The major findings of
the study pertaining to different roles are as fol-
lows:
Buying Roles: The Initiator
Any member of the family can express the need for
a product or service. Quite often, the product in
question would not merely be for the initiator’s per-
sonal use but for use by the entire family. The need
for a particular product in a family may remain la-
tent till it is triggered by certain internal or external
stimuli. Internally, some of the normal needs may

Methodology of Study
The data for the study was collected through personal interviews conducted between October and December
1999, through a structured, non-disguised questionnaire. Five roles (as defined by Philip Kotler, namely, initiator,
influencer, decider, buyer and user) played by family members in the purchase of a durable product were
examined for the study13. The questionnaire used for the survey was divided into three parts. The first part was
used to identify the members with the buying roles, the second part was directly addressed to the family
members who had actually played that role in the purchase of a particular product, and the third part of the
questionnaire included the personal details of the family members.
The Sample
A non-probability convenience sample was adopted. The sample consisted of 313 families who had recently
purchased one of the six durable products. Since the study concerned the different roles played by various
family members, the family was considered as the basic sampling unit. While selecting the sample items, care
was taken to ensure that the families selected represented different income and age groups, professions, joint
and nuclear structures, those with single earning members as well as double-income families.
For the purpose of the survey, a family was defined as consisting of husband, wife, children, grandparents and
any other member who did not fall in the above categories. The nomenclature of the family members depended
upon the composition of the family. The age of a member had no bearing on the name given to him/her and the
members were designated as husband, wife, children, grandparents etc., depending upon the number of
generations in that household.
Family Size
The majority of families surveyed had four members each, followed by families with three and five members
each, in keeping with an independent finding that a typical family across urban and rural India consists of 3.9
individuals14.
Monthly Household Income
The majority of the families who had recently purchased a durable product either fell into the more than Rs
25,000 (26.8%) or in the Rs 15,000-20,000 (26.6%) income bracket, followed by families with a monthly household
income of Rs 10,001-15,000 (17.8%) and Rs 20,001-25,000 (17.0 %). Only 11.8% families had a monthly household
income of up to Rs 10,000.

8 Dimensions of Buying Roles in Family Decision-making

rise to a threshold level and be- Initiator-Member vis-à-vis Product Purchased
come a ‘drive’ when one or more
of the members express the de- Product Purchased Initiator-Member
sire to buy the product and the Husband Wife Children Total
thought is shared among differ- and others #
ent family members. Externally, Audio System 10 (16.7) 9 (15.0) 41 (68.3) 60 (100.0)
various stimuli such as adver-
tisements or word of mouth pub- Car 25 (42.3) 12 (20.3) 22 (37.2) 59 (100.0)
licity can lead to the initiation Personal Computer 13 (25.4) 5 (9.8) 33 (64.7) 51 (100.0)
process. Refrigerator 5 (8.3) 47 (81.7) 8 (13.3) 60 (100.0)
The nature of the consumer Television 9 (15.2) 16 (27.1) 34 (57.6) 59 (100.0)
durable product to be purchased
and the demographic Washing Machine 8 (12.9) 42 (67.8) 12 (19.35) 62 (100.0)
characteristics (sex, age, level of Total 70 (19.9) 131 (37.3) 152 (42.7) 351 (100.0)
education, income etc.) of the Chi-square =140.46**
concerned family members
govern the behaviour of the **Significant at 0.01 level.
Figures in parentheses represent percentages
initiators. It is hence important #‘Others’ represent grandparents, etc., whose frequency is taken along with children.
to identify the initiators for
Exhibit 1
different products.
these products the husband and the wife were rela-
It was found that 351 family members had acted as tively dormant in their role as initiators. The same
initiators, with more than one member having acted was true of children for certain product categories.
as initiator in some families. A typical initiator in a (This is responsible for the Chi-square value show-
family, planning to purchase a consumer durable ing a significant difference in the product purchased
product was most likely to be a young (19-35 years), and the member initiating the purchase of the prod-
well-educated (graduate or post-graduate) female uct.)
member who was either a student or a housewife.
Thus, women in the house took on the responsibil- The Influencer
ity of being the homemaker, in keeping with tradi-
The influencer is a person whose views carry some
tion, where they decide about the items to be added
weight in the final decision. Broadly, family mem-
in the household, the decoration and upkeep of the
bers acting as influencers express their views re-
house.
garding the features available in a particular prod-
A cross tabulation of the initiator-members vis-à- uct and the brand to be selected. Unlike the
vis the product purchased was done in order to organisational buying process, in the case of a fam-
identify the relative importance of the family mem- ily, the influencers do not usually have expertise
bers who initiated the purchase process for differ- but assume their respective roles on the basis of
ent products (Exhibit 1). the family dynamics. The role of an influencer spans
across stages II and III (information search and
Children emerged as the single largest initiator-
evaluation of alternatives) of the decision-making
members for the audio system (68.3%), personal
process (Exhibit 2).
computers (68.6%) and television (57.6%). They
were also found to be important co-initiators in the Once the decision to buy a particular consumer
purchase of a car (37.2%). The wife was found to be durable product is made and announced, family
the single largest initiator for refrigerators (81.7%) members may provide what information is available
and washing machines (67.8%) whereas the hus- to them about the product, and may even be as-
band was found to be a prominent initiating mem- signed to gather information. For collecting addi-
ber only in the case of cars (42.3%). Apart from tional data, the influencers may use any of the four
basic sources of
information, viz.
Need Information Evaluation of Purchase Post-purchase
personal, commer-
Recognition Search Alternatives Decision Behaviour
cial, public and
INITIATORS INFLUENCERS DECIDERS, BUYERS USERS experiential. The
degree of accep-
Exhibit 2 tance of the

IIMB Management Review, December 2003 9

 Influencer-Member vis-à-vis Product Purchased
Product Purchased No. of Influencer-Members
Husband Wife
and others #
Audio System 22(27.2) 24(29.6)
Car 25(32.5) 27(35.1)
Personal Computer 15(27.3) 5(9.1)
Refrigerator 28(31.5) 27(30.3)
Television 20(28.2) 21(29.6)
Washing Machine 30(31.6) 33(34.7)
Total 140(29.9) 137(29.3)
Chi-square = 20.1*
*Significant at 0.05 level.
Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages.
#‘Others’ represent grandparents, etc., whose frequency is taken along with children.
Exhibit 3
information and the preferences of the influencers
may, however, vary. Although there is a separate
role for the ‘decider’, the degree of consideration
of the ideas and suggestions depends upon all the
members who are acting as influencers. The person
whom the influencers confide in assumes the role
of the moderator. The same person may also instruct
the members to collect the desired information.
Unlike in the case of initiators no fixed profile
emerged in the case of influencers, who were 468 in
number, thus more than one member in the 313 fami-
lies acting as influencer. A greater number of stu-
dents (22.9%) and youngsters (32.9% influencers
are below 25 years of age) have acted as influencers.
Eighty six percent of the influencers were gradu-
ates or had studied further.
A cross tabulation of the influencer-members vis-
à-vis the product purchased (Exhibit 3) revealed
that family members in the role of influencers
changed with the product under consideration.
Children and others had acted as influencers in
maximum cases of purchase of personal computers,
audio systems and televisions. The wife had acted
as a strong influencer in the purchase of all durable
products except the personal computer. The hus-
band had been the influencer in the case of all the
durable products with an almost uniform frequency.
The Decider
As the family progresses with the decision-making
process, on the basis of the information collected
in the previous stages, a member assumes the re-
sponsibility for finally deciding the characteristics
10
of the product to be purchased
and executing the decision with
regard to the brand, the vendor,
Children Total the timing and the payment
method. Although various mem-
35(43.2) 81(100.0) bers of the family act as
influencers offering their opin-
25(32.5) 77(100.0) ions and gathering information, it
35(63.6) 55(100.0) is finally the decider who sifts this
information for his/her use. The
34(38.2) 89(100.0)
role of a decider, corresponding
30(42.2) 71(100.0) to stage IV (purchase decision)
32(33.7) 95(100.0) of the decision-making process
(Exhibit 2), is very important for
191(40.8) 468(100.0)
the family, as the decision-maker
is responsible for the trade-off
with alternative products and is
the final authority on the product
to be purchased.
From the study it can be deduced
that the decider in an Indian family for the purchase
of a consumer durable is typically a male member
who is more than 25 years of age, reasonably edu-
cated and has his own business or is in the govern-
ment service. Ninety one percent of the total de-
cider members were over 25 years of age and 60.5%
were over 35 years of age. While there were a few
families in the sample where more than two mem-
bers acted as the decider (a total of 321 deciders in
313 families with at least one decider per family),
the main deciding authority rested with one mem-
ber, who was male in most cases.
A cross tabulation of the decider-members vis-à-
vis the product purchased revealed that in most of
the products the husband was the decider except in
the case of televisions, where a relatively larger
number of other members (42%) have acted as de-
ciders (Exhibit 4).
While purchasing a car the husband has been the
decider in 88.9% of the cases, which is the highest
among all the six products considered. One of the
reasons for this could be that the car is the most
expensive of all the items considered in the study.
Secondly, as we shall see later, the husband is the
main user of the car in the family. In the case of
refrigerators and washing machines though the wife
may be the main user, it is still the husband who
acts as the final decider in as high as 71.2% and
69.1% cases respectively. This could mean that the
wife in the Indian family looks up to the husband to
make the final decision once she has expressed her
need and given all the details of the product.
This indicates that a typical Indian family is male
Dimensions of Buying Roles in Family Decision-making
dominated especially when it comes to the final
decision about the purchase of an expensive
household item such as a consumer durable product.
Although more female members are now working
outside the home, the main breadwinner in Indian
families is still a male member and for a high value
product the main financial contribution is likely to
come from the male members.
The Actual Buyer
In the context of this study, the term ‘buyer’ refers
to the family member(s) who are physically involved
in the process of purchasing a product. Tradition-
ally, in North India, it is considered auspicious to
purchase a consumer durable product on Dhanteras,
the day preceding Diwali. Prayers are performed in
the night and the purchased product is accorded
due importance. Similar sentiments also prevail in
other parts of the country on different important
festivals. In view of these market characteristics and bers in the buyer’s role changed with different prod-
consumer behaviour, it can be expected that the re-
sponsibility of purchasing the product would be
bestowed on the most important person in the house-
hold.
Although this is a very advanced stage in the deci-
sion-making process when most things have been
discussed and decided, the buyer is still exposed
to the influence of the retailer. It is important to
assess as to what extent the buyer is aware about
the different aspects of the product to be purchased
and how far the retailer is able to influence the pur- ing a mere 5.5% in the buyer’s role. In both the wife-
chase decision. Both these aspects have far-reach-
ing implications for the marketer when he balances
Decider-Member vis-à-vis the Product Purchased
Product Purchased No. of Decider-Members
Husband Others#
Audio System 41(71.9) 16(28.1)
Car 48(88.9) 6(11.1)
Personal Computer 32(69.6) 14(30.4)
Refrigerator 42(71.2) 17(23.7)
Television 29(58.0) 21(42.0)
Washing Machine 38(69.1) 17(30.9)
Total 230(71.7) 91(28.3)
Chi-square = 12.8*
*Significant at 0.05 level.
Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages.
#‘Others’ comprise wife, children, grandparents and other members.
Exhibit 4
IIMB Management Review, December 2003
the push and pull selling strategies.
The role of a buyer corresponds to stage IV (pur-
chase decision) of the decision-making process. The
product finally purchased by the buyer shall de-
cide subsequent post-purchase behaviour.
The study revealed that a buyer in the case of pur-
chase of a consumer durable product is more likely
to be a male member over 30 years of age (maximum
number of the buyer members fall in the age group
of 36-50 years), reasonably well educated and hav-
ing a government job or running his own
business.As in the case of the decider, male mem-
bers dominate the role of the buyer. A buyer’s role
involves activities outside the home and tradi-
tionally, in Indian families, all activities outside the
home fall in the domain of the male members, al-
though this is changing fast.
The study sought to ascertain whether the mem-
ucts or the same pattern was applicable universally
for all consumer durable products. A cross tabula-
tion of the buyer member vis-à-vis the product pur-
chased (Exhibit 5) revealed that although the hus-
band is undoubtedly more prominent in the buyer’s
role, a relatively higher proportion of the other
members have been the buyers in case of audio
system (30.4%), personal computers (26.7%) and
television (41.8%). In case of a car, it seems to be
an all husband affair with other members contribut-
dominated products, viz., refrigerator and washing
machine, a relatively higher proportion of husbands
have acted as buyers. Chi-square test shows a sig-
nificant difference in the member play-
ing the buyer’s role with different prod-
ucts.
The Product User
Total
Although almost all the members of a
57(100.0)
family are beneficiaries of the product,
54(100.0) it is imperative to identify who actually
46(100.0) qualifies as the end-user of the prod-
uct, and how satisfied the user is with
59(100.0)
different aspects of the product. Since
50(100.0) so many members have influenced the
55(100.0) purchase decision, it is possible that
user satisfaction may vary on different
321(100.0) counts. For instance, children may be
the real users of an audio system that
has been purchased after the collective
influence of various family members.
The children may or may not be fully
satisfied with the product, which is
11
 Buyer-Member vis-à-vis the Product Purchased the television, compared to other
products, there was relatively a uni-
Purchased Product No. of Buyer-Members form distribution of the members as
Husband Others# Total users. Children turned out to be the
Audio System 39 (69.6) 17 (30.4) 56 (100.0)
maximum number of users of refrigera-
tors (37.5%), closely followed by
Car 51 (94.4) 3 (5.5) 54 (100.0) wives (33.5%).
Personal Computer 33 (73.3) 12 (26.7) 45 (100.0) We can see that there is a relatively
Refrigerator 48 (81.4) 11 (18.6) 59 (100.0) uniform participation by different
Television 32 (58.2) 23 (41.8) 55 (100.0)
members in the case of the television
and the refrigerator while there is usu-
Washing Machine 44 (81.5) 10 (18.5) 54 (100.0) ally one member who dominates as
Total 247 (76.5) 76 (23.5) 323 (100.0) user in the case of the rest of the prod-
ucts. This observation can help us
Chi-square =23.15**
classify these products as wife-domi-
**Significant at .01 level nated, husband-dominated, children-
Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages
#‘Others’ comprise wife, children, grandparents and other members.
dominated and common-usage con-
sumer durable products.
Exhibit 5
The Chi-square test shows a signifi-
reflected in their post-purchase behaviour. (The role
cant difference in the product and the members who
of a user corresponds to stage V— Post-purchase
act as its users, at 0.01 level.
behaviour of the decision-making process.) The
users may or may not recommend the product to Implications of Study
others on the basis of their satisfaction levels. This
has serious implications for the marketer since word The findings of the study have various implications
of mouth plays a very important role in the pur- for both research and managerial decision-making.
chase of consumer durable products. The knowledge of family buying roles is often very
important for developing appropriate marketing
A fairly uniform distribution of the user members strategies.
across the variables sex and age was found. Of the
user members 35.3% were graduates and 27.3% had Implications for Managerial Decision-Mak-
studied below Std XII while only 15.1% were pro- ing
fessionals. By occupation, a very large proportion
of the user members was either students (32.7%) or The major findings of the study and their implica-
housewives (20.8%). It has been noticed that there tions for various managerial decision-making are
is no clear profile of the user
member and that anybody in the User-Member vis-à-vis the Product Purchased
household could be a user for
the consumer durable product. Product Purchased User-Member
Husband Wife Children Others# Total
A cross tabulation of the actual
user-members vis-à-vis the six Audio System 21(15.2) 35(25.4) 76(55.1) 6(4.3) 138(100.0)
product categories (Exhibit 6) Car 48(53.9) 18(20.2) 17(19.1) 6(6.7) 89(100.0)
revealed that different family
members were active users for Personal Computer 20(20.8) 11(11.5) 60(62.5) 5(5.2) 96(100.0)
different products. In the case Refrigerator 28(15.9) 59(33.5) 66(37.5) 23(13.1) 176(100.0)
of the audio system and the per-
Television 39(22.3) 44(25.1) 64(36.6) 28(16.0) 175(100.0)
sonal computer, children (55.1%
and 62.5% respectively) domi- Washing Machine 7(7.4) 49(52.1) 30(31.9) 8(8.5) 94(100.0)
nated as the users. The husband Total 163(21.2) 216(28.1) 313(40.8) 76(9.9) 768(100.0)
turned out to be the main user
Chi-square = 146.28**
in the case of the car (53.9%),
** Significant at 0.01 level.
while the wife emerged as the
Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages
dominant user in case of the #‘Others’ comprise grandparents and other members.
washing machine. In the case of
Exhibit 6

12 Dimensions of Buying Roles in Family Decision-making

discussed below. relationship between certain variables and differ-
ent demographic factors. Members displaying cer-
Product-Member Relationships tain demographic characteristics were found to be
It was found that some family members play a more more dominant in certain roles or situations. The
active role during certain stages of the buying pro- initiators for the purchase of consumer durable prod-
cess pertaining to different products. The marketer ucts were mostly women. Lower-middle-income
can thus identify the members who play the role of families (with monthly household incomes below Rs.
initiator for particular products and then develop 10,000) took the least time to purchase a consumer
an appropriate communication strat- durable product, after the initiating member had
egy targetted at these members to While the purchase expressed chase. Male
the need for the pur-
members were more
evoke the desired response. If con-
sumer durable products are decision-making likely to make technical sugges-
categorised depending upon the process is relatively tions. The extent of consideration
members who are the main benefi- of the influencers’ views increased
ciaries, marketers can plan their
democratic in the with age. Most of the influencers,
communication strategy. It can also initial stages, it especially in the age group of 26-50
help in modifying the design and y e a r s , h a d i n d i v i d ual opinions
seems to about the brands which had to be
services of different products.
subsequently considered before the actual pur-
In the case of some products such chase of a consumer durable prod-
as the car, the television and the become much more uct. Higher education among the
personal computer, a major propor- unilateral. Within a prospective buyers led to better
tion of the influencers made volun-
tary contributions of information.
family, the husband brand consciousness, which also
seemed to be higher among male
Marketers therefore need to ensure was found to be members. Deciders in the higher age
that they make customers for life so playing the highly group tended to consult other mem-
that the latter not only buy their dif-
ferent products but also express significant roles of bers of the family regarding the
product to be purchased, much more
their satisfaction to others. Suitable coordinator, decider than their peers in the lower age
post-purchase activities thus need segment. The marketer can thus de-
to be organised by the marketers to
and buyer.
vise his marketing strategies de-
build long-term relationships with pending upon the target segment for his product.
their customers. These activities can take the form
of, say, free service camps by manufacturers of cars Implications for Future Research
and air conditioners, cookery classes for custom-
It was observed during the discussions with the
ers of microwave ovens or software support offered
family members that the decision-making process
by personal computer manufacturers.
is iterative in nature. This means that the previous
Intra-Family Dynamics in the Purchase of stages are revisited during the process for further
Products inputs.

It was seen during the study that while the purchase
decision-making process is relatively democratic in the
initial stages, it seems to subsequently become much
more unilateral in terms of the role played by the de-
cider. Within a family, for instance, the husband was
found to be playing the highly significant roles of
coordinator, decider and buyer. It is important for the
marketer to understand the intra-family dynamics and
relationships at play in the purchase of a consumer
durable product in order to be able to decide the ap-
propriate marketing mix.
Impact of Demographic Variables
The study indicated the existence of a significant
It needs to be studied as to how the roles played by
family members shift during the decision-making
process. A member may play different roles in the
process. Both these aspects can be captured if the
family is observed over the lifecycle of the deci-
sion-making process. The methodology to be
adopted for observing the family during the pro-
cess needs to be chosen judiciously so that it is
not unacceptably intrusive in nature. Such a study
should be undertaken for each product in detail.
On the research pertaining to family decision-mak-
ing, according to Wilkie, ‘although most of us eas-
ily relate to the issues that are involved, this re-
mains one of the most formidable research areas in
the entire field of consumer research’ 15 .

IIMB Management Review, December 2003 13

Conclusion
Families as consumers display certain homogenous
characteristics irrespective of who their members are.
All the purchase decisions, whether for buying a prod-
uct for personal consumption or for common use, rang-
ing from which brand to be purchased, in what quan-
tity, how often, and from where to purchase, entail the
playing of different roles by various family members.
The precise role to be played by any member varies
according to the dynamics of a particular family, its
lifestyle, the personality of the individual member,
and his relationship with other members, as also the
nature of the product bought. The marketer must,
therefore, take the family into consideration while fram-
ing his marketing strategies.
References and Notes
1 Dobhal, Shailesh, ‘Selling to the New Urban Family’, Busi-
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14
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D P S Verma is Professor, Department of Com-
merce, Delhi School of Economics, University
of Delhi.
Sheetal Kapoor is a lecturer in Commerce,
Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi.
Reprint No 03401
Dimensions of Buying Roles in Family Decision-making
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