An empirical study of the purchase role structure in Korean families

Abstract

The primary purpose of this research is to measure spousal influence in family decision-making situations in South Korea. Five thousand five hundred responses were collected nationwide, from a spectrum of age groups and from both genders. The (categorical) data were subjected to analysis by chi square and inspection of gamma values, by simple frequencies, and then by correspondent analysis. Results were consistent with expectations, in that it seems that the strong, cultural tradition of patriarchal dominance is overriding the increasing levels of economic development that might have been expected to lead to far higher levels of shared decision making between spouses. However, children, as well as women, do appear to have an increasing influence in family purchase decisions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.