Individual preference and bargaining behavior in families' buying decisions of restaurant service

Abstract

A study of how couples choose a restaurant finds a two-step process, in which each partner determines an individual utility for a particular restaurant’s attributes and then the two partners negotiate a joint family utility for those attributes. To examine this negotiation process, the study used discrete choice analysis among sixty-eight families in a major metropolitan area in southern India. Each partner was separately presented a set of “restaurant” choices based on seven restaurant attributes with numerous different levels. Once that choice was made individually, the couples were then invited to choose “restaurants” jointly, again using the seven attributes. The study found that part of the negotiation involves each partner’s divergent mental budget for family entertainment, as compared with a separate individual entertainment budget. In finalizing the negotiation, the two partners seek to maximize their utility on attributes that are personally important as they achieve a joint decision. Spouses who each have an external income source tended to have matched bargaining power, while the negotiation patterns for families with one breadwinner were more variable.