What do You Think, Darling? Revisiting Knowledge on Purchase Decisions of Couples within Households

摘要

Many purchase decisions are made by couples living together. Previous research has investigated antecedents of which partner has more influence in these decisions. However, due to societal changes in gender roles, this research requires an update. Hence, we review whether extant findings still apply to contemporary couples. In an online study, we investigate product category-unrelated (education and income) and product category-related (knowledge and preference intensity) as well as contextual (product category, gender) antecedents of relative influence in joint decisions regarding vacations, television sets, groceries, and dining out. Although income still plays a role, individual's education does not - possibly due to increasingly similar educational levels among partners. Knowledge and preference intensity both strongly affect the relative influence on joint decisions as follows: Women (men) are more knowledgeable and have more intense preferences for the purchase of groceries (TV sets). This result points towards persistent gender-bound decision making in some product categories.