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 achiev...