"GROw"ing up: tweenagers' involvement in family decision making

Practitioners in particular have noted that kids are growing older younger (KGOY) and academic research has in parallel shown that children are becoming more involved in the final stages of purchase decisions, albeit in a limited number of product categories studied. This quantitative and qualitative study examines the relatively under-researched but increasingly important tweenager market across a number of product categories and the extent to which 10-12 year olds are involved in the final stages of purchase decision making. Further to this, the paper considers whether a liberal versus traditional approach to decisions made within the family (Gender Role Orientation) affects the degree of involvement. The findings suggest that gender role orientation (GRO) is indeed a factor in family decision making but that the relationship is far from a simple one. The authors posit why perceptions of involvement are sometimes inconsistent and why some kids may not be growing older younger (KGOY) in the way previously thought but may simply believe they are more involved in purchase decision making as a consequence of parental strategies as well as the influences of media, school and peers. The authors describe the implications for marketing practitioners and academic researchers. Key Words

Tweenagers influence on purchase decision-making: A gender role orientation (GRO) perspective

This study examines the influence of children aged 10-12 at different stages of purchase decisions and the effect of gender role orientation on a child's involvement. The research findings are based on 101 GB families and show children to be highly involved in all stages of decision making for casual clothes and school packed lunches for themselves including the final stage. In terms of GRO, children with a more egalitarian preference consider themselves more involved in all three stages of decision making. If egalitarian values are spreading within society this would suggest that children are becoming more involved in purchase decisions. However, parents' perceptions do not always correspond with that of the child. A number of explanations for this are presented

Online access panels for surveys on public health and epidemiology

In both the private and public sectors research on attitudes and behaviour is often carried out using “online access panels” – panels sometimes consisting of hundreds of thousands of members of the public who have agreed to answer questionnaires on a variety of topics. However, such panels are currently little used in health care research, perhaps a surprise given Van Gelder, Bredveld and Roeleveld’s (2010) comment “...web-based questionnaires could be considered an alternative or complementary mode in the range of epidemiologic methods of data collection”. Thus in this paper we examine what a typical online access panel is and what it might offer to health care researchers.To set online access panels into context, the potential biases associated with them are examined, and these are compared with the other main modes of data collection. It is argued that an evaluation of the validity of modes of data collection should be based on a number of criteria to decide which mode is most likely to reflect accurately the characteristics of a specific population, in particular its demographics, lifestyle, attitudes and behaviour. Validity is not just a function of the sampling design and the extent and nature of any non-response bias but also of the willingness and ability of respondents to give honest and accurate information. In the case of online access panels the merits of reduced socially desirable responding and greater willingness to provide sensitive information are noted. The positive and negative sides of ‘panel learning’ are also reported. Whether there is one single definitive statement about the relative validity of the different modes is considered. Experimenting with key questions across modes is suggested

Purchase Decision Making and the Increasing Significance of Family Types

Purpose The authors note the growing significance of different family types in the West and explore the relationship between the complexity of family relationships typified in single parent, blended and intact families and the involvement of children in purchase decisions. Originality Whilst social trends indicate that the composition of the family will continue to change, little research has been conducted on the impact of changing family structures on consumption behaviour. Methodology The quantitative research is a development based on earlier qualitative research on the three family types and large scale piloting of the questionnaire. Sampling A random sample of mothers with children aged 10-16 were contacted from the TNS Postal Access Panel. Questionnaires were only used where there were responses from both the mother and child. 524 fully completed questionnaires were used for the analysis. Findings The analysis supports the idea that where familial relationships are simpler such as in single parent homes (fewer relationships) then the involvement of the child is greater and in more complex relationships such as in blended homes (where there are step-parents and step children present) a child’s involvement may be less marked. Exceptions to the “rule” are discussed as are the theoretical and practical implications

Great Britain adults' opinions on cycling: Implications for policy

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. In its neglect of cycling, the transport policy history of Great Britain is typical of many car-dependent societies. Policy inertia with respect to sustainable travel may be driven by the assumptions that, firstly, most households have access to the use of a car and are keen to preserve the mobility advantages the current system offers them, and secondly that environmental and health considerations should be subjugated to economic priorities. Thus, in spite of warm words about cycling, pro-car policies tend to dominate.Set against this policy backdrop, and taking the stance that public opinion can influence policy change, this paper reports the results of two large scale surveys of opinions regarding the practice of cycling and its role within society, carried out amongst samples of adults representative of Great Britain, in 2010 and 2013. Results indicated broadly positive opinions relating to cycling as part of society, albeit with these measures dropping slightly between 2010 and 2013. Opinions of cycling were found to be significantly linked to voting intention with, broadly speaking, a gradient of decreasing positivity when moving from the political left to right. These results imply a possible link of 'surface' opinions of cycling being influenced by underlying 'deep-seated' beliefs and values. These results are discussed in terms of policy options for pro-cycling groups wishing to influence the debate. Options include decoupling cycling from underlying belief systems and presenting simply as a form of everyday transport; promoting cycling as a solution to multi-social issues across health, the environment and economic considerations such as lower congestion; the pros and cons of de-marketing car usage; and finally, changing underlying belief systems. It is concluded that pro-cycling advocates may be pleased with the broad support of cycling's contribution to society, but they may need to seek alliances with other environmental or health groups in order to turn these good intentions into genuine policy change

Public responses to volunteer community care: Propositions for old age and end of life

BackgroundFunding shortages and an ageing population have increased pressures on state or insurance funded end of life care for older people. Across the world, policy debate has arisen about the potential role volunteers can play, working alongside health and social care professionals in the community to support and care for the ageing and dying.AimsThe authors examined self-reported levels of care for the elderly by the public in England, and public opinions of community volunteering concepts to care for the elderly at the end of life. In particular, claimed willingness to help and to be helped by local people was surveyed. MethodsA sample of 3,590 adults in England aged 45 or more from an online access panel responded to a questionnaire in late 2017. The survey data was weighted to be representative of the population within this age band. Key literature and formative qualitative research informed the design of the survey questionnaire, which was further refined after piloting.ResultsPreferences for different models of community volunteering were elicited. There was a preference for ‘formal’ models with increased wariness of ‘informal’ features. Whilst 32% of adults said they ‘might join’ depending on whom the group helped, unsurprisingly more personal and demanding types of help significantly reduced the claimed willingness to help. Finally, willingness to help (or be helped) by local community carers or volunteers was regarded as less attractive than care being provided by personal family, close friends or indeed health and care professionals.ConclusionFindings suggest that if community volunteering to care for elderly people at the end of life in England is to expand it may require considerable attention to the model including training for volunteers and protections for patients and volunteers as well as public education and promotion. Currently, in England, there is a clear preference for non-medical care to be delivered by close family or social care professionals, with volunteer community care regarded only as a back-up option

Support and compliance with 20 mph speed limits in Great Britain

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. There are a number of challenges relating to both the support of and compliance with speed limits. The introduction of 20 mph limits in Great Britain is no exception: the recent rise in the deployment of these limits in urban settings has created a need to understand these issues in more depth. This paper reports a study undertaken by the authors that used a population wide survey of GB drivers to explore how support and compliance were interlinked. Whilst as expected many supporters said they would comply with the limits, and many opponents might not comply, more surprisingly it was also found that some supporters claimed not to comply, while some opponents of 20 mph limits were compliers. Explanations included the strong likelihood of strong moral adherence to not breaking laws amongst opponent-compliers, and self-enhancement bias amongst supporter-non-compliers. This paper explores the incidence of these effects and their implications in detail