Marital influence in the decision ‐making process for services

Spousal influence in the decision‐making process has been studied by marketing researchers for many years. Although the knowledge base has increased substantially on this topic, the empirical research has generally focussed on goods. As services continue to dominate the gross domestic product, understanding marital influence in the decision‐making process for services becomes critical. Reports an initial study of the relative influence of husbands and wives and the decision‐making process for four different services. Results suggest that for experiential services, joint decision making is the norm. However, for services higher in credence qualities, role specialization tends to occur during the decision‐making process.