Societal Development and Family Purchasing Roles: A Cross-National Study

Abstract

To date, there have been relatively few attempts to integrate the cultural dimension into knowledge of consumer behavior. This paper focuses on the cross-cultural dimension of family purchasing roles. We discuss a theory developed by Rodman (1972) that attempts to place the findings of marital power studies in cultural context; introduce an analytical technique called correspondence analysis that can be used to analyze family decision-making data collected across cultures; and present the results of a five-nation family decision-making study to illustrate how Rodman's theory and correspondence analysis can be employed in cross-cultural research.