He said, she said … they said: parents' and children's assessment of children's influence on family consumption decisions

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of Israeli children on family decision making. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were used, replicating two different approaches that have been used to measure children's influence with US children. In study one, a survey was given to each parent, whereas, in study two, a survey was given to each parent and their child. Findings Findings indicate that Israeli children have a similar influence to US children, suggesting that, overall, Israeli children exercise quite strong influence on family decision making. This was the case when rated by children, as well as by both mothers and fathers. Research limitations/implications Two main ways to improve on this kind of research in the future are using a non‐convenience sample and collecting data from multiple countries for cross‐cultural comparisons. Practical implications One important implication of the findings is that children across cultures tend to have higher influence for products that are more relevant for them; therefore, marketers should concentrate their efforts primarily on the children. Originality/value An important contribution of this research is that it examines children's influence on family decision making in cultures different from the USA. For example, Israel is less individualistic, more uncertainty‐avoiding, and less power‐distant than the USA.