FAMILY PURCHASING ROLES IN SAUDI-ARABIA - PERSPECTIVES FROM SAUDI WIVES

With a few notable exceptions, family purchasing behavior in developin g countries has received scanty attention from researchers. This study partially fills in the void by empirically examining family purchasin g decision roles in Saudi Arabia. An upscale sample of 249 married Sau di women was used in testing seven hypotheses derived from a synthesis of the relevant cross-cultural literature. All seven hypotheses were developed around one outcome variable-who makes the decision-and were examined across three subdecisions (when to buy, where to buy, and how much to pay). Results supported earlier findings that differential ro le behavior varies according to cultural influences, resource contribu tions, and decision and product types.