Spouses' influence strategies in purchase decisions as dependent on conflict type and relationship characteristics

Abstract

This study investigates spouses' influence tactics in purchase situations. A taxonomy of influence tactics is presented, deriving from phenomenological analysis and deduced from previous empirical research. The study aims to detect situational characteristics affecting the choice of a specific strategy. A total of 35 couples were presented with six vignettes, representing a value conflict, a probability task and an allocation problem. The spouses were asked to indicate what they would do to get the partner's agreement to fulfill their individual desire for the product presented in the vignettes. In addition, a questionnaire was also presented, assessing marital quality, power patterns and relating to several demographic characteristics. As this was a pilot study, the results need to be considered with caution. They seem to show that the taxonomy of influence tactics presented is useful in research on joint purchasing strategies, and that the type of conflict has a major impact on the choice of a specific strategy. On the other hand, gender, marital happiness, and power patterns are of minor importance.