2012 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2013), "2012 Awards for Excellence", Young Consumers, Vol. 14 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/yc.2013.32114aaa.003

2012 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2012 Awards for Excellence From: Young Consumers, Volume 14, Issue 1

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Young Consumers

``Children as agents of secondary socialisation for their parents''

Torgeir WatneLecturer in Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

Antonio LoboAssociate Professor in Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

Linda BrennanProfessor of Advertising Research at the RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge associated with consumer socialisation. The authors investigate how children function as socialisation agents for their parents in influencing their purchase intentions of computer and high-tech products - essentially the idea of the young educating the old.

Design/methodology/approach - A review of the extant literature relating to consumer socialisation, social power and knowledge about computer related and small high-tech products yielded meaningful hypotheses. A structured survey which was required to be completed by dyads (i.e. children and parents) was mailed to Australian families in the state of Victoria. Data obtained from 180 usable responses from the dyads were analysed to test the hypotheses.

Findings - Children are seen to possess expert power over their parents with regards to computer related and small high-tech products; which make them an important agent of secondary socialisation for their parents. Men are perceived as being more knowledgeable than women, a phenomenon which leads mothers to be more inclined to seek their children's (son's in particular) advice.

Research limitations/implications - This study implies that when children are seen as experts by their parents, they become important agents of secondary socialisation. However, this only relates to the consumption of the product categories studied here. Future research needs to include other product categories in order to assess the validity of the measures.

Practical implications - Marketers of computer related and small high-tech products can benefit from the findings when promoting these products to children and parents.

Originality/value - This research study is unique in Australia and possibly globally.

Keywords Australia, Children, Computer related products, Consumer behaviour, Consumer socialization, Family, High-tech products, Influence, Parents

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/17473611111185841

This article originally appeared in Volume 12 Number 4, 2011, pp. 285-94, Young Consumers

The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award

``Feeding children's desires? Child and parental perceptions of food promotion to the `under 8s'''

Shaun Powell, Stephanie Langlands and Chris Dodd

This article originally appeared in Volume 12 Number 2, 2011, Young Consumers

``Perceived health value of ready meals and side dishes: regional and gender differences''

JoAnne Labrecque, Jean-Claude Dufour and Sylvain Charlebois

This article originally appeared in Volume 12 Number 3, 2011, Young Consumers

``Danish and Chinese adolescents' perceptions of healthy eating and attitudes toward regulatory measures''

Kara Chan, Gerard Prendergast, Alice Grönhöj and Tino Bech-Larsen

This article originally appeared in Volume 12 Number 3, 2011, Young Consumers

Outstanding Reviewer

Dr Lisa McNeillUniversity of Otago, New Zealand