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Consumer Behaviour
Notes Nature of Product
Harry L Davis and Benny P Rigaux undertook a detailed study of husband/wife influences by
product category and classified products into four categories:
1. Products for which the influence of husband tends to dominate the decision making. Such
products include hardware, sports equipment, men's shaving products etc.
2. Products for which the influence of wife tends to dominate the decision making. Examples
of such products are women's clothing, kitchenware, child clothing etc.
3. Products for which decisions are made by either the husband or the wife (autonomous
decisions). These products may include women's jewellery, cameras, men's clothing etc.
4. Products for which husband and wife make joint decisions. Examples of such products are
refrigerators, financial planning, family car etc.
Example: This Tata Sky Ad, featuring Aamir Khan as both Husband and Wife, depicts a
joint decision situation.
Nature of Purchasing Influence
The differentiation of roles is believed to result from small group interaction. Leaders that
emerge take up either instrumental roles or expressive roles. Leaders taking up instrumental
roles are concerned with tasks that help the group take decisions about its basic purpose or goal
(also called functional or task leaders).
Example: Decisions on budgets, timing and product specifications would be task-oriented.
Family Characteristics
The third reason for variation in relative influence of husband/wife relates to family
characteristics. Though husband and wife tend to dominate decisions for certain product
categories, the degree of their dominance may vary within different families. In case of patriarchal
families (father is considered the dominant member), husband dominates decisions irrespective
of the product category under purchase consideration. In matriarchal families (mother is the
dominant member), wife plays the dominant role and tends to make most of the decisions.
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