Transcript Group Influence and Family Decision Making

Group Influence and
Family Decision Making
Group and Situational
Influence
• A group is two or more individuals who
share a set of norms, have role
relationships, and experience
interdependent behaviors.
• Groups influence the socialization
process--i.e., they influence what we learn
and how we behave.
Classification of Groups
• Content or function
– Membership group
– Symbolic group
• Degree of personal involvement
– Primary
– Secondary
• Degree of organization
– Formal
– Informal
Reference Groups
• A group to which a consumer looks for
guidance for values and behavior. Serves
as a frame of reference for individuals in
their purchase or consumption decisions.
• Broad categories of reference groups:
– Normative
– Comparative
How Do Reference Groups
Influence Consumers?
• Social power theory
• Information and experience
• Product conspicuousness and exclusivity
Social Power Theory
• Groups have potential power over
members through 5 different types of
social powers.
• Three processes that impact the likelihood
that social power will influence an
individual member:
– Compliance
– Internalization
– Identification
Social Powers
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Legitimate
Expert
Referent
Coercive
Reward
Information and Experience
• Members of reference groups share
experiences and information about
products.
– Family, friends
– Expert power
Product Conspicuousness and
Exclusivity
• How much a reference group influences
depends on two characteristics of a
product:
– Conspicuousness
• How visible the product is to people
• Public vs. private
– Exclusivity
• How exclusively the product is owned
• Necessity vs. luxury
Low exclusivity
Low
visibility
High
visibility
High exclusivity
“Private necessities”
“Private luxuries”
Reference group influence:
Weak for product ownership
and weak for brand choice.
Reference group influence:
Strong for product ownership
but weak for brand choice.
Examples:
Mattress
Floor lamp
refrigerator
Examples:
Theater sound system
Pool table
Trash compactor
“Public necessities”
“Public Luxuries”
Reference group influence:
Weak for product ownership
But strong for brand choice.
Reference group influence:
Strong for product ownership
and strong for brand choice.
Examples:
Car
Computer
Clothes
Examples:
Golf clubs
Sail boat
Snowboard
Reference Group Appeals
• Appeals that consumers identify with in
some way:
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Admiration
Aspiration
Empathy
Recognition
Types of Appeals
• Celebrity appeals
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Testimonial
Endorsement
Actor
Spokesperson
Appeals, continued...
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Expert appeals
“Common man” appeals
Executive spokesperson appeals
Trade or spokes-characters
Benefits of Reference Group
Appeals
• Increase brand awareness
• Decrease perceived risk
Family
• A family is the most important reference
group.
• What is a family?
• Family vs. household
Functions of the Family
• Economic function
• Emotional support
• Establish lifestyle
• Socialization
Consumer Socialization
• The process by which children acquire
skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary
to function as consumers.
• Primary socialization agent
– Parents
• Secondary socialization agent
– Peers
– Media
Family Decision Roles
• Related to sex
– Instrumental vs. expressive
– Traditional vs. egalitarian
• Related to purchase and consumption
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Influencer
Gatekeeper
Decider
Buyer
User
Family Decision Making
Models
• Husband-wife decisions
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Wife dominant
Husband dominant
Autonomic
Syncratic (joint)
• Classification based on degree of role
specialization and relative influence.
Models, continued...
• Purchase decision strategies
– Consensual decisions
• Goal consensus
• Requires problem solving strategy or rule strategy
– Accommodative decisions
• Conflicting goals
• Requires conflict resolution, persuasion strategies,
bargaining strategies
Models, continued...
• Husband-wife influence strategies
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Expert influence
Legitimate influence
Bargaining
Reward/referent influence
Emotional influence
Impression management
• Partners use a combination of strategies
Influence Strategy Mixes
Influence Strategy Mix
% of Sample Strategy Choices
Non-influencers
22.0%
Expert
Light influencers
35.9%
Subtle influencers
18.8%
Emotional influencers
6.6%
Combination influencers 9.9%
Impression management
Expert
Reward/referent
Expert
Emotional
Reward.referent
Moderate use of all strategies
Heavy influencers
Heavy use of all strategies
6.6%
Involvement of Children in
Family Decision Making
• Children are significant market segment:
– As influencers of family purchases
– As individual consumers
• Primary influence on family purchases:
– Personal involvement
– Initiation stage of purchase process
– Sub-decisions
Children….
• Direct vs. indirect influence
• Influence strategies
Family Life Cycle (FLC)
• A classification scheme based on the
assumption that families pass through an
orderly progression of stages, each having
unique characteristics, financial
situations, and purchasing patterns.
• A useful tool for predicting certain
household purchases.
FLC, continued
• FLC models
– Base categorization on either husband’s or
wife’s age and on age of youngest child in
family.
– Spending patterns generally follow an
inverted U pattern over the life cycle.
Traditional FLC
• Stage 1--Bachelorhood
• Stage 2--Honeymooners
• Stage 3--Parenthood
– Full nest I-III
• Stage 4--Postparenthood
– Empty nest I-II
• Stage 5--Dissolution
Updated FLC
• Address societal changes
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Never married
Divorce
Childless couples
Single parents
Delayed marriage
Delayed children