Sample Dissertation Report

DISSERTATION REPORT
ON
“A Study of Parent’s Perspective of Children’s
Influence On Their Buying Behavior”
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE MASTER’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
(INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS)
OF
H. N. B. GARHWAL UNIVERSITY, SRINAGAR
Submitted to: Submitted by:

Prof. Shivani Aggarwal Kavita Mishra
Assistant Professor MBA-IB
Doon Business School (2020-2022)
Dehradun 0201MIB030
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I Kavita Mishra would like to thank each and everybody who helped me complete
this very task of dissertation with minimum hassle possible. The satisfaction and
elation that accompany the successful completion of any task would be incomplete
without the mention of the people who have made it a possibility. It is my great
privilege to express my gratitude and respect to all those who have guided me and
inspired me during the course of the dissertation.
At the forefront, I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor, Professor

Shivani Aggarwal for her continuous support, motivation and guidance throughout
the dissertation stages. She has given her knowledge and experience, and put in
effort at all times for the benefit of this dissertation. I am both proud and grateful to
have worked under her supervision.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues and friends who

have helped me accomplish my dissertation for the degree of MBA in
International Business. Thank you to interviewees, who generously took time out
of their schedules to participate in my research and make this thesis possible.
I would also like to acknowledge the immense impact and support that my
family has given me, including my father and mother whose encouragement was
beyond description.
Parental Buying Behaviour Page 2

CERTIFICATE
I have the pleasure in certifying that Ms. Kavita Mishra is a bonafide student of
IVth Semester of the Master’s Degree in Business Administration(International
Business) Batch 2020-22, of Doon Business School, Dehradun under H.N.B.
Garhwal University Enrollment No. G202120181
She has completed her project work entitled “A Study of Parent’s Perspective of
Children’s Influence On Their Buying Behavior” under my guidance. I certify that
this is his/her original effort & has not been copied from any other source. This
project has also not been submitted in any other Institute/University for the
purpose of award of any Degree.
This project fulfils the requirement of the curriculum prescribed by this Institute
forth said course. I recommend this dissertation project for evaluation & the
consideration for the award of Degree to the student.
Signature: ..........................................
Name of the Guide: Professor Shivani Aggarwal
Designation: Assistant Professor
Date:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In today’s ever-changing business environment, consumer behavior research has become
increasingly important for advertisers for their sustainability, growth and development.
Understanding changing needs, preferences, lifestyle, and consumer statistics is a major
challenge. No more kids behind the stage. Although the strength and influence of children in
family shopping is little known about their involvement. Previous studies of family and home
use often overshadow the role of children in decision-making, but today, children become one of
the strongest advocates for family shopping. They dominate the family buying process and can
influence their parents in many categories of products from cars to groceries and as a result the
question arises, what influences children when they request products and what strategies they
use to make their parents comply with their requests. The amount of influence given to children
varies with the product phase and the decision-making process. In some products, they are active
startups, information seekers, and consumers; and in some product categories, they influence
parental purchases. Purchasing law is governed by the way in which they are integrated to
function as consumers and as a result children form part of a targeted market that is important
and deserves attention from a marketing perspective. This has led researchers to direct attention
to the study of the influence of children. Therefore, this research paper attempts to describe what
influence strategies children use and family difficulties related to parental shopping behavior.
However, the focus was only on families, where children are present and therefore the data of
only unmarried couples with one or more unmarried children; a single parent with one or more
unmarried children and an agreement with one or more unmarried children has been used to
determine how these children affect family behavior in purchasing. As this paper looked at
families with children only, among the difficulties of the family the main focus was on the age
and number of children in the family. Key data was collected through an electronic
questionnaire, which led to samples of 190 respondent parents living in and out of India.
Data were analyzed and concluded; Aggressive, persuasive and informative tactics affect
parenting purchases;Family structure also plays a key role in purchasing behavior;Indian
families living outside of India end up with unnecessary purchases;Olderchildren have more
control over parental purchasing behavior as well; The number of children does not have a
significant impact on parental purchases. On that account, understanding the relationship
between children and parents buying behavior is important from practical and theoretical
reasons. First, research can have an impact on the sector and help researchers in the field
understand what influential strategies affect parental decision-making and how age and number
of children affect shopping behavior, where the marketing sector can learn. Second, this
information can help parents to see how their children are influencing them and what strategies
they are using and to find effective ways to have a greater impact on them. This paper will
analyze the complexity of the family based on the traditional and non-traditional family, the
number of children and the age of the children and how each of these components is linked to
the family purchasing decision. Therefore, to present a complete picture of the decision to buy a
family, taking into account the effect of family hardship and the influence of children.

TABLE OF CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................[6-8]
1.1 BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………….
1.2 FAMILY BUYING DECISION THEORY……………………………………….
1.3 FAMILY COMPLEXITY………………………………………………………....
1.4 INFLUENCE STRATEGIES……………………………………………………...
2. LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................[9-11]
3. RESEARCH METYHODOLOGY...........................................................................[12-13]
3.1RESEARCH OBJECTIVE………………………………………………………
3.2 CHOICE OF METHOD…………………………………………………………
3.3DATA COLLECTION…………………………………………………………...
4. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRATATION......................................................[14-28]

4.1 SECTION A…………………………………………………………………….
4.2 SECTION B…………………………………………………………………….
4.3 SECTION C…………………………………………………………………….
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION...............................................................................[29-30]
6. CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................[31]
6.1 THEORITICAL CONSIDERATIONS……………………………………………
6.2 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS…………………………………………………...
7. LIMITATIONS...........................................................................................................[32]
8. FUTURE RESEARCH................................................................................................[32]
9. REFERENCES.........................................................................................................[33-35]
10. ANNEXURE.............................................................................................................[36-48]
11. PLAGIARISM REPORT..........................................................................................[49-50]

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
People are generally reasonable and make good use of the information available to them.
People consider the consequences of their actions before they decide to participate or not
to participate in the behavior they are given. Consumer behavior is the study of
individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, protect, and
dispose of products, services, information, or ideas to satisfy the needs and impact these
processes have on the consumer and the community. It covers aspects from psychology,
social science, social anthropology and economics. It seeks to understand consumer
decision-making processes, both individually and in groups. It examines the
characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variations
in an effort to understand people's needs. It also attempts to assess consumer influences
from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and the general public. Customer
behavior research is based on consumer behavior, in which the customer plays three
different roles of the user, the payer and the buyer. These behaviors are also influenced
by many factors, including environmental and commercial factors, status, personal and
psychological factors, family, and culture.
The emergence of increasing competition and changing socio economic environment has
made the marketers to be more customers oriented. The recent awareness of consumer
behaviour has introduced many new dimensions including family complexity and
influence of children. According to Cart Wright, “Influence has been defined as
something that is inferred when one person acts in such a way as to change the behaviour
of another in some intended manner”. Thus influence involves actions by family
members that make a difference during the decision making process. Indian societies to a
great extent differs from west in terms of family, composition and structure, norms and
values, behavior; hence it become important to understand children influence in family
purchase decision making in Indian context. The amount of influence exerted by children
varies by product category and stage of the decision making process. For some products,
they are active initiators, information seekers, and buyers; whereas for other product
categories, they influence purchases made by the parents. The purchasing act is governed
by how they have been socialized to act as consumers. They not only influence markets
with regard to parental decision making on purchasing products, but they also act as
future consumers.
1.2 FAMILY BUYING DECISION THEORY
The decision to buy a family was the center of attention in various fields such as rural
social sciences, social anthropology, social psychology, clinical psychology, home
economics, consumer psychology, marketing and economics. According to this theory
―complete use of the family is classified as
 Each member,
 The whole family, once

 Home unit.
Family food comes as a result of their family buying decision. However, it is different
when one member acts independently or when several members of the family work
together. It may seem that every member of the family will buy the item he or she wants.
But this is not always the case because the housewife usually works as a consumer agent
for all family members. This means that they even consider the love of their husbands.
On the other hand, the act of purchase may be completely independent but of use from
all family members.
Although, Children play an important role in family decision-making, this role depends
on the product, the parents, the child, the decision stage and family factors which is what
different researchers say. They are no longer consumers who do nothing but children
actively participate in the decision to buy their families. This is because they have their
own money spent on various products and services but even influence their parents in
buying decisions theory. It also explains how the influence of children on a family
purchasing decision differs from the decision stage; they have a high influence on early
stages such as problem identification and information search. This influence descends
into the final phase which is the final decision. In addition, the theory is that parents have
a strong consensus on the perception that children have an influence on their children.
That is why this paper will examine the impact children have on their parents' purchases.
The only focus will be on how children who use different tactics influence their parents
in shopping and how family hardships affect you.
1.3 FAMILY COMPLEXITY
A social group is defined in the social sciences as two or more people who come
together, share similar characteristics and have a sense of unity. One such group shared
the same unity and dependence on the family. A family can be defined as “a group of two
or more individuals who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption; all such persons are
considered to be members of the same family ”The definition of a family and what is
accepted as a family varies according to population, culture, and the laws of the land.
And this family is considered to be the most important unit for implementation and
decision making. Therefore, it is very important to know how its weight affects the
buying behavior. Family complexity has many different categories, from which the paper
will focus on family structure, the number of children in the family and the age of the
children.
In recent years, people have changed the way they build families so the family structure
can be seen as a traditional family and a non-traditional family. The traditional family
structure is the most common type and has four important features that should be
considered traditional. These are as follows:
The role of the man as husband and father in relation to manhood;

The role of the woman as wife and mother in relation to femininity;

Husband-wife relationship with parent and child, where care is focused on authority
and responsibility.
On the other hand, there is a non-traditional family, which can be defined as a same-sex
family or a single-parent family. A single-parent family is defined as the father or mother
with one or more unmarried children.
However, this document will only apply to families, where children are present and
therefore will only apply to married couples with one or more children, single parents
with one or more children and couples living in contractual contracts with one or more
children. Theory helps determine how these children affect family shopping habits. As
this paper looks at families with children only, in the midst of family difficulties their age
and number of children in the family will be considered.
1.4 INFLUENCE STRATEGIES
Consumer socialization is defined as the processes by which young people acquire the
skills, knowledge, and attitudes associated with their performance as consumers in the
market. It is important to learn consumer relationships to understand: ― consumer family
behavior; adaptation to changing generations; and the impact of social styles on
purchasing youth patterns and family consumer behavior. This concept will be used to
understand children as a consumer. As consumers, they are influenced by different
variables but also take on the role of influence as well. Children as influencers use a
variety of strategies to persuade their parents to buy what they want because they have
no control over it.
 Bargaining strategiesmean that between family members there is an agreement

in which both parties benefit. Simply put, this strategy can be explained by ―If
you do this, I will do that.that between the family members there is an agreement
from which both parts are beneficial. Simply put, this strategy can be described as
―if you do this, I will do that.
 On the other hand, if you use persuasion strategies the benefits are individually
linked to the applicant and in general, deception is used to persuade parents. This
category consists of three categories: persistence, supplication and crying.
 Emotional strategies require the use of emotions intentionally to influence
parents into buying what they want. Some of the tactics that researchers have
discovered that are used in this case are crying, nagging, anger, or giving the
silent treatment; sweet talk and being all nice and obedient. Another tactic is
making them feel guilty for buying something to their siblings and not to them.
 Making a specific request or a more difficult request is a feature of request
strategies, in which they are asking for something.
 The last category is the directive strategy that is based on the parental authority
and on parents asking for their children opinions.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Research on the influence of children on buying behavior of family dates back to the 1960s
(Williams & Burns,2000). Back then, Berey and Pollay (1968) conducted a study on what
role and how much power children have in buying behavior of family. Previous research
shows that children represent themselves in three markets at once (McNeal, 1992; as cited
in Nicholls & Cullen, 2004). According to McNeal, they are part of the primary market
where they spend their money - savings, grants; the second market, where they act as the
main influences on parental spending; and lastly become part of the future market for
potential adult consumers. From the socialization outcomes that Ahmad et al. (2011)state
that it can be understood that not only the parent influences the behavior of their children's
consumers but also that even children in some way influence the use of their families
through different strategies. The influence that children have on their parents is shown even
on Ward (1974, p. 1) , when it is explained that ―the socialization study focuses on the
influences on the development of children, but research on consumer relationships involves
analyzing the influence of children on internal family patterns.
In this paper, the main focus is on the secondary market with children as the “influencers”
which was chosen based on the fact that according to Euromonitor (2001) most of the
spending on products was by secondary purchases - adults primary or directly influenced
secondary purchases (as cited in Nicholls & Cullen, 2004). Furthermore, parents pretend to
be the main breadwinners of the family, since they bring home money and thus make final
decisions on their purchases.According to the Family Room, 76% of Millennial parents are
related to the family decision-making style, which means they will discuss decisions, small
and large, with the whole family. This means that even small purchases will be made with
input from both parents and children (From, 2015, para. 6). Today's emerging conditions
have had a profound effect on family structures and the environment in which they live
(Rindfleisch et al., 1997).Generally the demographical and the social shifting have led to
decrease in the influences of parents and it has rather passed on to their children. The
influence level of children has reached the highest level in all times (Flurry, 2006).
(Pahl, 2000; Swinyard&Sim, 1987; Balcarova, Pokorna&Pilar, 2014; Ward

&Wackman, 1972).Therefore, it is important to focus on the parents. However, times have
changed and now thanks to the influence of television and the internet children have become
more experienced consumers and have the ability to buy in almost every product category as
research shows. (Chaudhary and Gupta, 2012).Unlike in previous studies where the focus
of the family decision-making process was more focused on couples, today the role of
children has increased, by being an integral part of this process. This is due to the high
family income, the increase in nuclear families with fewer children. Wimalasiri (2004)on
the other hand, this power comes from working couples who are able to give their children
whatever they ask for, the constant exposure of children to the media and advertising and as
Chaudhary and Gupta (2012) stated to families having fewer children. The influence that
children have on their parents is shown even on Ward (1974, p. 1) , when it is explained
that
―the socialization study focuses on the influences on the development of children, but
research on consumer relationships involves analyzing the influence of children on internal
family patterns. Forbes attributes this change in children buying power to

millennialsparenting style: ― as parents, Millennials are changing the decision-making
process to include their children.
According to the Family Room, 76% of Millennial parents are related to the family decision-
making style, which means they will discuss decisions, small and large, with the whole
family. This means that even small purchases will be made with input from both parents and
children (From, 2015, para. 6). Today's emerging conditions have had a profound effect on
family structures and the environment in which they live (Rindfleisch et al.,
1997).Generally the demographical and the social shifting have led to decrease in the
influences of parents and it has rather passed on to their children. The influence level of
children has reached the highest level in all times (Flurry, 2006).Furthermore, children have
received more responsibilities and more direct-purchasing power, as a result of the changes
that our society has gone through the years, like mothers spending more time outside their
houses because of work and the increase in single-parent families (Greninger, 2017, para
2). Mothers feel guilty for not being able to spend as much time with their children because
they have to work full-time and that is why they try to compensate by giving the children
more power to make decisions. (Rindfleisch et al., 1997). Living in single-parent family
children have more influence on what the family eats because sometimes they are the ones
who do the shopping for the whole family (Shoham&Dalakas, 2005; Mohanram, 2012).
Ishaque and Tufail (2014)they suggest that family structure contributes to the level of
influence children have in their family, which is why children from non-traditional families
claim to have a greater influence on themselves. Moreover, (Wimalasiri, 2004)children of
different ages and cultures use different persuasive techniques to persuade their parents to
buy what they want because they have no control over them. Wimalasiri (2014, p.
275)states ―The influence occurs whenever the source (children) tries to change the
thoughts, feelings or behavior of the recipient (parents). Encouraging change in behavior is
called obedience and changing attitudes is called persuasion.
Furthermore, Chaudhary and Gupta (2012)explain this process through an exchange

theory, where children receive the material goods they have requested and parents receive
intangible assets such as household chores, better behavior, and intellectual values. This type
of exchange between tangible and intangible organizations helps to maintain harmony
between family members and their dependents. (Chaudhary and Gupta, 2012).Topic of
influences by child on purchase decision has got the attention of many researchers and
marketers (laroche, Yang, Kim, & Richard, 2007). This is because it is a global
phenomenon and there are studies that parents in Israel, India, China, Fiji and the Philippines
respect the younger members of their families.(Goodwin, 2013).This information is
important for parents and advertisers. It can help parents set limits on the purchasing power
of their children or make them a major part of the family decision based on what is best for
the particular family. (Flurry, 2007; Alam&Khalifah, 2009).In that account, understanding
the relationship between children and parents buying behavior is important from practical
and theoretical reasons. First, research can have an impact on the sector and help researchers
in the field understand what influential strategies affect parental decision-making and how
age and number of children affect shopping behavior, where the marketing sector can learn.
Second, this information can help parents to see how their children are influencing them and
what strategies they are using and to find effective ways to have a greater impact on them.

Therefore, in order to produce a complete picture about the decision to buy a family, the
effect of the complexity of the family and the influence of children is taken into account.
According to the Family Room, 76% of Millennial parents are related to the family decision-
making style, which means they will discuss decisions, small and large, with the whole
family. This means that even small purchases will be made with input from both parents and
children (From, 2015, para. 6). Today's emerging conditions have had a profound effect on
family structures and the environment in which they live (Rindfleisch et al.,
1997).Generally the demographical and the social shifting have led to decrease in the
influences of parents and it has rather passed on to their children. The influence level of
children has reached the highest level in all times (Flurry, 2006).
Pahl, 2000; Swinyard&Sim, 1987; Balcarova, Pokorna&Pilar, 2014; Ward &Wackman,

1972).Therefore, it is important to focus on the parents. However, times have changed and
now thanks to the influence of television and the internet children have become more
experienced consumers and have the ability to buy in almost every product category as
research shows. (Chaudhary and Gupta, 2012).Unlike in previous studies where the focus
of the family decision-making process was more focused on couples, today the role of
children has increased, by being an integral part of this process. This is due to the high
family income, the increase in nuclear families with fewer children. Wimalasiri (2004)on
the other hand, this power comes from working couples who are able to give their children
whatever they ask for, the constant exposure of children to the media and advertising and as
Chaudhary and Gupta (2012) stated to families having fewer children.
In that account, understanding the relationship between children and parents buying behavior
is important from practical and theoretical reasons. First, research can have an impact on the
sector and help researchers in the field understand what influential strategies affect parental
decision-making and how age and number of children affect shopping behavior, where the
marketing sector can learn. Second, this information can help parents to see how their
children are influencing them and what strategies they are using and to find effective ways to
have a greater impact on them. Therefore, in order to produce a complete picture about the
decision to buy a family, the effect of the complexity of the family and the influence of
children is taken into account.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
 To study the methods adopted by children in order to influence the parents

purchase decision making.
 To analyse the relative influence of children on parents purchase decision with
respect to family structure.
 To examine the degree of children influence on purchase decision of working
parents (single or both parents working)
 To develop an empirical relationship between the influence strategies children
use and family complexities relative to the parental shopping behavior
3.2 CHOICE OF METHOD
This paper aims to explain the relationship between family difficulties and influential
strategies and how they affect family purchasing behavior. According to Denscombe
(2009), the measurement method is most appropriate when researchers aim to find
relationships. Therefore, this paper uses a quantitative test method. The measurement
method uses research methods such as questionnaires and research strategies as research.
Moreover, since this paper uses a debit research method and aims to achieve something,
the most appropriate method is the measurement method.
Moreover, as the method aims to achieve something, quantitative data is based on

objective rules rather than researchers owning values as is the case with quality data, so
the data is more reliable and can be measured and controlled. Data collected through
quantitative research can also be used effectively and help the researcher to ― organize
data, summarize the findings, present evidence, explain the results profile, and nexus
components of the data.
3.3 DATA COLLECTION
To gain more insight and to explore the relationships embedded in the thesis, the paper
has collected basic data, using the plural method. Data were collected through an online
survey using an electronic controlled questionnaire. The survey on which the data was
collected was written in English and completed by individuals anonymously.
The online survey was shared with social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn,
Instagram, WhatsApp and on various Facebook pages such as International Parents
Group, Parents of India living aborad, Gay Fathers Parenting . The survey was valid
and assigned for 30 days.

Questionnaire participants were informed of the seriousness of this study in handling
their data. In all social networks where the questionnaire, which was used to obtain data,
was published, the reason why the data was collected was clearly stated before they
clicked on the link to start the survey.
Once the link was clicked, a brief introduction was given to the two authors of this paper
and the reason for their request to answer this questionnaire was explained again.
Emphasis on the fact that the information provided to participants would be completely
confidential and used only for the analysis of this study.
Participants were assured that the information would be deleted after the paper was
completed. This is done so that participants can respond freely and honestly to all
questions and quiz statements as well as reliable information that can be collected.
 The first questions and guidelines for the survey were whether the respondent was
a parent or not.
 If the respondent says yes to being a parent, proceed to the next question.
 If the respondent answers no to parenting, the investigation is complete.
 This resulted in 200 participants, 190 of whom were parents, with almost 81%
of people responding positively.
 After looking for answers, some had to be removed and not counted because
of incomplete answers.
 The maximum number of complete and useful answers was 190.
Note: - The questionnaire includes 20 closed questions to get simple and quick answers and
statements answered based on a Likert scale of 1-5.

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
The survey has been responded by almost 58% females and the with a little less
proportion were the male respondents with 42% of inputs
The parents ( the respondents) majorly (approx. 47%) fall in the age group of 30-40
years, with least responses from the respondents in the age group of 40-50years ( nearly
11%)

 In order to add some parameter of international comparison , the survey has also
been floated with the Indian parents living abroad.
 Majorly the India residents responded to the survey making it upto 79%
approximately and the remaining 21% input could be apprehended with the
perspective of families living outside India
 Out of the total 190 respondents, majority of parents were working full time
which gave a wider perspective to this research.
 However, the paper was also analyzed based on the other respondents including
the part time working parents; home makers and the self-employed once. As a
matter, the later ones do not have any significant influence on the buying
behavior
in response to the influence strategies.

Survey was responded by nearly 26% of single parent.
The parents who responded for the questionnaire majorly belong to Nuclear Family
(78.9%) with only 21% of parents in joint families.
This differentiation helped in analysing the influence of family complexities relative to

the Parental buying behavior.

The survey has been responded by the parents having mostly 1 and 2 kids. There
weren’t any parents with more than 3 kids.
However, no significant impact is there on the parental buying behavior relative to the
number of kids in the family.
The survey has been responded by parents having kids with a mean age of 7-8 years.
There were some parents having teenagers and adult kids who responded in a
different way pertaining to the influence strategies of the children

SECTION A
ANALYSE YOUR KID'S PARTICIPATION IN A PURCHASE
Parents prefer going to shop with their kids often.
These results can be explained by the fact that parents who respond to the online survey
majorly worked full-time and tried to compensate for the fact that they did not spend
much time with their children by giving them whatever they liked at the grocery store.

Parents often take into consideration what their kids have to say about the purchase
It also explains how the influence of children on a family purchasing decision differs from
the decision stage; they have a high influence on early stages such as problem
identification and information search.
Parents often like to involve their kids in the decision making process
This information can help parents to see how their children are influencing them and what
strategies they are using and to find effective ways to have a greater impact on them.

Parents mostly talk to their kids about their purchase, if not most of the times then it might
happen often that kids are being involved in the decision making
Parents mostly wonder whether their kids will like what they have brought
It also explains how the influence of children on a family purchasing decision differs from
the
Thisdecision
clearlystage; theythat
explains have a highare
children influence on consumers
no longer early stageswho
suchdoasnothing
problembut
identification
actively
and information search.
participate in the decision to buy their families. This is because they have their own
money spent on various products and services but even influence their parents in buying

SECTION B
INFLUENCE STRATEGIES USED BY YOUR KIDS
In the survey, the parents have actually claimed that their kids mostly show silent treatment
to them to have an influence on the buying decision
This is quite evident in the survey for the teenage and adult kids. As they would rather
not nag or rant about a certain thing rather than they would have a sense of stubbornness
that would be clearly reflected in their silent treatment.

Most of the parents have not actually witnessed their kids pretending to be sick for creating
an influence on the parental buying behavior. More than 50% of parents have claimed it to
be an unsignificant influence strategy
Surprisingly, parents have majorly seen change in the behavior of their children while
convincing them for a purchase or even prior to that.
This information can help parents to see how their children are influencing them
and what strategies they are using and to find effective ways to have a greater
impact on them.

 The respondents have rarely seen their kids crying and whinning as they are
mostly (80%) parenting adults and teenagers.
 Around 31% of parents have kids who usually nag about a particular thing to
be brought; these are evidently toddlers.
Parents have profoundly found this influence strategy significant as, and have responded that
kids mostly offer deals to them to convince them for a purchase.
This clearly explains the fact that parents are significantly driven by behavioural aspect of
their kids be in terms of academic performance or any other positive acceptance in
behaviour. This strategy has a significant impact on the parental buying bhevaiour

It was quite evident from the Survey that Parents have been significantly influenced
by the logical facts and evidence pertaining to a product and have got convinced for the
This observation could be supported by the fact that respondents to the online survey were highly
educated, and can often ask their children to reason with them in order to convince them to buy
what they want.
 This influence strategy is quite evident in the joint families where elderly people
have a say in the buying process.
 However, major percentage ( 79%) of respondents were from nuclear family
and hence elderly influence could not be mapped as such.

SECTION C
INFLUENCE STRATEGIES AFFECTING PARENTAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR
 Most of the parents ( 58%) have claimed that they are often driven by their kids
being stubborn for certain things.
 This startegy is quite common with toddler parent and gets embarrasing in public
Respondents have evidently claimed ( 70% parents often end up getting convinced) that they fail to
say no to buy something which the kid has demanded as a birthday present
Parents are always convinced to buy whatever their kids demand as a birthday present; as
it holds an emotionally driven influence on the parents pertaining to their child’s

It was quite evident from the Survey that Parents have been significantly influenced by the
logical facts and evidence pertaining to a product and have got convinced for the purchase.
This observation could be supported by the fact that respondents to the online
survey were highly educated, and can often ask their children to reason with them in
order to convince them to buy what they want.
 Most of the parents, dominantly females have claimed to get easily driven when the child
claims to not have something that their friend have
 This is quite evident due to the fact that a parent would find it difficult to not pay
head towards something that their child feel is being deprived off.

 This influence strategy is quite evident in the joint families where elderly people have a
say in the buying process.
 However, major percentage ( 79%) of respondents were from nuclear family and
hence elderly influence could not be mapped as such.
 Parents are often emotionally driven when the kids are sick or unwell; and hence they
would end up buying whatever their kids wish for.
 Here, the parents have rarely witnessed this influence strategy beinf used as
the respondents are parents majorly adults and teenagers.

Parents have profoundly found this influence strategy significant as, and have responded that kids
mostly offer deals to them to convince them for a purchase.
This clearly explains the fact that parents are significantly driven by behavioural aspect of
their kids be in terms of academic performance or any other positive acceptance in
behaviour. This strategy has a significant impact on the parental buying behaviour.

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 The results of the study make it clear that according to parents the children have the
power to make family decisions because of all the tricks they use, to persuade their
parents to buy as they wish, at least in most cases the parents are committed.
 When asked indirectly about the closed question about the strategy their children use
when shopping or at home discussing shopping, parents who participated in the study
chose an option that is related to the most convincing strategy and the least
knowledgeable strategy.
 Another highlight would be the age of the respondents in most cases in the study. In
particular, children were adolescents ranging in age from 8 to 15 years, which clearly
explains why information techniques are less commonly used by children in this study
because as older children they have more product knowledge and use this strategy more.
 However, a study for this paper concluded that shopping behavior is actually linked to
the age of children. However, the results showed that the number of children does not
significantly affect shopping behavior, which means that there is no positive or negative
influence that the family consists of 1, 2, 3 or 4 children.
 The results of the online survey have shown that there is good communication and
aggressive strategies and parents who intend to buy may come because the majority of
participants are fully working and feel guilty for not spending much time with their
children. so they will listen to any of their requests.
 When it comes to using the strategy of pleading from children to make their parents the
analysis has shown a good link to this strategy and the behavior of buying parents. In
fact, children use this technique because they have learned from experience that it will be
more effective than others. This may be due to the young age of the participants'
children. At this age, they often resort to tactics such as insisting on a single product,
appealing to their parents and sometimes crying about following them to buy their
favorite food.
 The analysis supports the fact that a sound strategy is closely linked to parental
purchasing behavior. However, children use sensible strategies because they are often
exposed in the media where they find additional arguments to make them their parents.
Respondents to the online survey were highly educated, most of whom had bachelor's or
master's degrees. They can often ask their children to reason with them in order to
convince them to buy what they want. This may explain the positive link between this
strategy and parental purchasing behavior.

 Thus, analyzing the data collected from the online questionnaire clearly led to the fact
that the information strategy is directly proportional to the behavior of the purchasing
parents. This means that when children talk to their parents and the facts about why a
product is better than another, parents will agree to their request.
 Since, an analysis of the use of emotional strategies has shown that the theory that there
is also a positive link between emotional strategies and parental shopping behavior .This
may be due to the young age. the children participants have who can be considered
younger to understand the complexity of human emotions.
 What was found to be important in terms of children's ability to purchase family

behavior was also family complexity. As mentioned in the previous article, family
complexity consists of family structure, age of children and number of children. Family
structure as part of family complexity was considered to be an influence on behavioral
purchases.
It can be found that in a traditional family structure, children are considered to be under
the authority of their parents, whereas in a non-traditional family structure children are
considered equal. This paper explores the traditional and traditional family, which
includes single-sex families and single-parent families.
Note:- This paper examined the differences between same-sex families and single-parent
families, which led to both cases having a significant impact on purchasing behavior, and
therefore, eventually, were grouped together in the same category of non-traditional families on
paper.

6. CONCLUSION
The results of the analysis are somewhat surprising because they have shown that there is a
positive interaction with the purchasing behavior and all the influence strategies. This means
that even if children are aggressive in their demands, their parents will allow them to buy
what they want. These results can be explained by the fact that parents who did not respond
to the online survey worked full-time and tried to compensate for the fact that they did not
spend much time with their children by giving them whatever they liked at the grocery store.
Non-existent link and emotional strategies may be due to the young age of the participants'
children. Because of the young age they cannot use emotions as a strategy even though they
may use them indirectly. However, when it comes to how family structure, the number of
children and the age of children, how it affects parents to buy behavior. In addition, Children
from non-traditional families have a significant influence on parental purchasing decision
and for older children to be well-connected with the parental buying behaviour. Of the three
methods, only one is about the number of children. However, this is supported by the fact
that the number of siblings does not affect the behavior of the parents who purchase the
behavior.
6.1 THEORITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
The purpose of this paper is to explain what impact strategies affect a parent's buying style,
and how the complexity of the family as a traditional or unusual family and the age of
children and the number of children influence these buying behaviors, as seen by parents.
The research model presented by this paper is something that has never been done before.
What contributed to this paper in the literature was that for the first time homosexuals were
part of a non-traditional family and single parents. Another contribution is that the paper does
not focus on one or two countries but has respondents on every continent. Finally in the
model it can be said to be beautiful and important because it focuses on things that have not
been extensively researched before.
6.2PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
Some practical implications that can be derived from the results of this paper for the family
buying behaviour are for parents to understand how they are being influenced by their kids
into buying them whatever they want. Parents should acknowledge the power that the young
members of the family are gaining day by day. Parents have to understand that when their
children insist or beg for one item they are using the persuasion strategy on them. Another
implication can be for marketers that need to pay more attention to children as a marketing
target group not only as direct consumers but as indirect consumers as influencers as well,
because they play a very important role in the secondary market, where they pose as
influencer on the breadwinners that are their parents.

7. LIMITATIONS
One of the limitations of this paper is the number of respondents, who answered the survey.
The paper conducted a worldwide parental survey on online questionnaires, but the number
of respondents was as high as 190, preventing the rate at which the findings could be
reached by most people.
The other end of the study is linked to a single data collection method - the survey only,
which limits other questions from the respondent and the moderator, especially in the
definition of ethics. In addition, research and speculation were evaluated based on data
collected from a parent's perspective, which provided some limitations.
Although research has proven that data collected from a parent's perspective is highly
reliable it still limits the research to only one opinion. Finally, considered to be the limit of
the study was the measurement of children's age, which was measured as the average age.
This is considered a limitation because different age groups of children use different
strategies to solicit what they want from parents so older children combined with younger
children give a limited effect, although some literature states that children tend to imitate. the
behavior of older siblings, who support the idea of how to measure on paper.
FUTURE RESEARCH
As this paper has found that individual strategies, family composition and age of children
significantly affect purchasing behavior, future research may be suggested to study family
relationships and other statistical variables of parents and children in terms of strategies, which
may affect purchases. behaviors such as parental income and child sex.
This study contributed to exploring all the strategies and complexity of the family by integrating
same-sex families within the family structure and found positive relationships about purchasing
behavior so it may be necessary to do further research, which will further develop relationships
not only with parents but also with children. vision.
In addition, in order to obtain as reliable data as possible, a quality and quantity method must be
used. In addition, since behavior is generally considered to be a psychological act, an
observational approach to data collection may be appropriate. In addition, having more
information about individual behavior and why they are using a particular strategy and when
they are in different regions, analysis of different cultures can contribute to understanding that.

REFERENCES
 Beatty, S.E., Talpade, S. (1994). Adolescent influence in family decision making: A replication with
extension. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(9), 332–341. https://journals.sagepub.com/servlet/linkout?
suffix=bibr40972150915597612&dbid=16&doi=10.11
77%2F0972150915597612&key=10.1086%2F209401
 Atkin, C. (1978). Observation of parent-child interaction in supermarket decision-

making. Journal of Marketing, 42(8), 41–45.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?hl=en&volume=42&publication_year=1978&pages=41-
45&issue=8&author=C.+Atkin&title=Observation+of+parentchild+interaction+in+supermarket+dec ision-
making.
 Belch, G., Belch, M.A. (1985). Parental and teenage child influences in family decision making.
Journal of Business Research, 13(4), 163–176. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?
hl=en&volume=13&publication_year=1985&pages=163 176&issue=4&author=G.+Belch&author=M.A.
+Belch&title=Parental+and+teenage+child+influenc es+in+family+decision+making.
 Caruona, A., Vassalo, R. (2003). Children perception of their influence over purchase: The role of
parental communication patterns. Journal of Consumer Market, 20(2), 55–66.
https://journals.sagepub.com/servlet/linkout?suffix=bibr90972150915597612&dbid=16&doi=10.11
77%2F0972150915597612&key=10.1108%2F07363760310456955
 Geuens, M., Mast, G., Pelsmacker, P.D. (2002). Children’s influence on family purchase
behavior: The role of family structure. Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research, 5(1), 130–
135.
135&issue=1&author=M.+Geuens&author=G.+Mast&author=P.D.+Pelsmacker&title=Children%E
2%80%99s+influence+on+family+purchase+behavior%3A+The+role+of+family+structure
 Ward, S., Wackman, D.B. (1972). Children’s purchase influence attempts and parental influence
attempts and parental yielding. Journal of Marketing Research, 9(8), 316–319.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002224377200900312
 Filiatrault, P., Ritchie, J.R.B. (1980). Joint purchasing decisions: A comparison of influence
structure in family and couple decision-making units. Journal of Consumer Research,
7(8), 131–140.
https://journals.sagepub.com/servlet/linkout?suffix=bibr150972150915597612&dbid=128&doi=10.
1177%2F0972150915597612&key=A1980KJ64400004
 Jain, P.C., Bhatt, M. (2004). Consumer behaviour in Indian context. New Delhi: S. Chand.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?hl=en&publication_year=2004&author=P.C.+Jain&auth or=M.
+Bhatt&title=Consumer+behaviour+in+Indian+context

 Kaur, P., Singh, R. (2006). Children in family purchase decision making in India and the West: A
review. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 6(8), 1–30.
30&issue=8&author=P.+Kaur&author=R.+Singh&title=Children+in+family+purchase+decision+m
aking+in+India+and+the+West%3A+A+review.
 Kurnit, P. (2005). Responsible marketing to children in the US. Young Consumers: Insight and
Ideas or Responsible Marketers, 6(4), 8–12. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?
hl=en&volume=6&publication_year=2005&pages=8- 12&issue=4&author=P.
+Kurnit&title=Responsible+marketing+to+children+in+the+US
 Mangleburg, T. (1990). Children’s influence in purchase decisions: A review and

critique. Advances in Consumer Research, 17(2), 813–825.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?hl=en&volume=17&publication_year=1990&pages=813
825&issue=2&author=T.+Mangleburg&title=Children%E2%80%99s+influence+in+purchase+deci sions
%3A+A+review+and+critique.
 Marquis, M. (2004). Strategies for influencing parental decisions on food purchasing. Journal of
Consumer Marketing, 21(2), 134–143. https://journals.sagepub.com/servlet/linkout?
177%2F0972150915597612&key=10.1108%2F07363760410525696
 Moschis, G.P. (1985). The role of family communication in consumer socialization of children and
adolescents. Journal of Consumer Research, 11(2), 898–913.
1177%2F0972150915597612&key=A1985AFN5200005
 Palan, K.M., Wilkes, R.E. (1997). Adolescent–parent interaction in family decision

making. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(2), 159–169.
1177%2F0972150915597612&key=A1997XV76200003
 Shoham, A., Dalakas, V. (2006). How our adolescent children influence us as parents to yield their
purchase requests. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23(6), 344–350.
350&issue=6&author=A.+Shoham&author=V.+Dalakas&title=How+our+adolescent+children+influ
ence+us+as+parents+to+yield+their+purchase+requests.
 Tinson, J., Nancarrow, C. (2007). Growing up: Teenagers involvement in family decision making.
Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(3), 160–170. https://journals.sagepub.com/servlet/linkout?
177%2F0972150915597612&key=10.1108%2F07363760710746166
 Omar, R., Denise, T., James, R., Mohamed, Y.Z. (2012). Perceptions of children’s influence on
purchase decisions: Empirical investigation for the U.S. and Egyptian families. World Journal of
Management, 4(1), 30–50. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?
hl=en&volume=4&publication_year=2012&pages=30- 50&issue=1&author=R.+Omar&author=T.
+Denise&author=R.+James&author=Y.Z.+Mohamed&tit

le=Perceptions+of+children%E2%80%99s+influence+on+purchase+decisions%3A+Empirical+inv
estigation+for+the+U.S.+and+Egyptian+families.
 Singh, D. (1998). Children as consumers. Journal of Indian Management, 3(7), 78–81.

81&issue=7&author=D.+Singh&title=Children+as+consumers.
 Swinyard, W.R., Sim, C.P. (1987). Perception of children’s influence on family decision processes.
Journal of Consumer Marketing, 4(10), 25–38. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?
hl=en&volume=4&publication_year=1987&pages=25- 38&issue=10&author=W.R.
+Swinyard&author=C.P.+Sim&title=Perception+of+children%E2%80
%99s+influence+on+family+decision+processes.
 Tinson, J., Nancarrow, C. (2005). The influence of children on purchases: The development of
measures for gender role orientation and shopping savvy. International Journal of Market Research,
47(1), 5–27. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?
hl=en&volume=47&publication_year=2005&pages=5- 27&issue=1&author=J.+Tinson&author=C.
+Nancarrow&title=The+influence+of+children+on+purc hases
%3A+The+development+of+measures+for+gender+role+orientation+and+shopping+savvy.
 Tinson, J., Nancarrow, C. (2007). Growing up: Teenagers involvement in family decision making.
Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(3), 160–170. https://journals.sagepub.com/servlet/linkout?
177%2F0972150915597612&key=10.1108%2F07363760710746166
 Ward, S., Robertson, T., Klees, D., Gatignon, H. (1996). Children’s Purchase Requests and Parental
Yielding: A Cross-National Study. Advances in Consumer Research, 13(1), 629–32.
32&issue=1&author=S.+Ward&author=T.+Robertson&author=D.+Klees&author=H.+Gatignon&titl
e=Children%E2%80%99s+Purchase+Requests+and+Parental+Yielding%3A+A+Cross- National+Study

ANNEXURE

Your gender,please?*
o Male
o Female
Your age,please?*
o Between 20-30 years

o Between 30-40 years
o Between 40-50 Years
o More than 50 years
Where do you live?*
o I live in INDIA
o I live outside INDIA
What is your work status?*
o Working - Full time

o Working- Part time
o Self- employed
o Homemaker

Your family type?
o Nuclear Family
o Joint Family
Are you a single parent?*
o Yes
o No
o I prefer not to disclose
How many kids you have?*
o 1
o 2
o 3
o More than 3
What is the age of your kid/kids?*

Note : You can select multiple options if you have more than one kid
 Between 3-7 Years

 Above 18 Years

PLAGIARISM REPORT

Sample Dissertation Report

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sample Dissertation Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DISSERTATION REPORT

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

H. N. B. GARHWAL UNIVERSITY, SRINAGAR

Submitted to: Submitted by:

At the forefront, I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor, Professor

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues and friends who

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 2

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 3

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 4

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRATATION......................................................[14-28]

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION...............................................................................[29-30]

11. PLAGIARISM REPORT..........................................................................................[49-50]

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 5

1.2 FAMILY BUYING DECISION THEORY

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 6

1.3 FAMILY COMPLEXITY

The role of the man as husband and father in relation to manhood;

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 7

1.4 INFLUENCE STRATEGIES

 Bargaining strategiesmean that between family members there is an agreement

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 8

(Pahl, 2000; Swinyard&Sim, 1987; Balcarova, Pokorna&Pilar, 2014; Ward

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 9

Furthermore, Chaudhary and Gupta (2012)explain this process through an exchange

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 11

Pahl, 2000; Swinyard&Sim, 1987; Balcarova, Pokorna&Pilar, 2014; Ward &Wackman,

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 12

3.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

 To study the methods adopted by children in order to influence the parents

3.2 CHOICE OF METHOD

Moreover, as the method aims to achieve something, quantitative data is based on

3.3 DATA COLLECTION

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 13

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 14

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 15

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 16

This differentiation helped in analysing the influence of family complexities relative to

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 17

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 18

ANALYSE YOUR KID'S PARTICIPATION IN A PURCHASE

Parents prefer going to shop with their kids often.

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 19

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 20

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 21

INFLUENCE STRATEGIES USED BY YOUR KIDS

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 22

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 23

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 24

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 25

INFLUENCE STRATEGIES AFFECTING PARENTAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 26

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 27

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 28

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 29

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 30

 What was found to be important in terms of children's ability to purchase family

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 32

6.1 THEORITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 34

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 35

 Atkin, C. (1978). Observation of parent-child interaction in supermarket decision-

Parental Buying Behaviour Page 36

 Mangleburg, T. (1990). Children’s influence in purchase decisions: A review and

 Palan, K.M., Wilkes, R.E. (1997). Adolescent–parent interaction in family decision