Science, Education and Innovations in the Context of Modern Problems

Author Information

Dr. Ruby Mittal
Assistant Professor
MVN University
India

E-mail: ruby.mittal@mvn.edu.in
ORCID: 0009-0007-7881-3692

Keywords

Children’s influence Family dining behaviour Restaurant decision-making Consumer behaviour Hospitality marketing Food-ordering behaviour Family purchasing dynamics Peer influence Advertising exposure Emerging markets

Abstract

The increasing commercialization of childhood consumption and the transformation of family dining practices have significantly reshaped restaurant-related purchasing behaviour in emerging consumer markets. While previous studies have acknowledged children’s growing role in household consumption decisions, empirical evidence examining their influence within family restaurant decision-making in developing economies remains comparatively limited. This study investigates the extent and determinants of children’s influence on restaurant food-ordering decisions within table-service restaurant settings in Palwal and Hodal, Haryana, India. Specifically, the study examines the effects of advertising exposure, peer influence, menu-related factors, family structure, and socioeconomic conditions on children’s participation in family dining decisions. The study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional research design based on primary data collected from 108 families through structured restaurant intercept surveys. Descriptive statistical techniques, including frequency analysis, measures of central tendency, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis, were employed using IBM SPSS Statistics and Microsoft Excel. The findings reveal that children exert a meaningful and increasingly visible influence on family restaurant decision-making processes. Approximately 82% of parents reported considering children’s preferences while placing food orders, while nearly 40% indicated that children demonstrate a moderate level of influence over menu selection. The study contributes to the literature on consumer behaviour, hospitality management, and family purchasing dynamics by providing empirical evidence from an underexplored emerging-market context and offers important implications for restaurant managers, marketers, hospitality practitioners, and public health policymakers.

How to Cite

Mittal, R. (2026). Children as Influential Actors in Family Restaurant Decision-Making: Evidence from Table-Service Dining Environments in Haryana, India. Science, Education and Innovations in the Context of Modern Problems, 9(8), 1–16.

Publication History

Open Access and Licensing

© 2026 The Author(s).

Published by Science, Education and Innovations in the Context of Modern Problems (SEI) under the auspices of IMCRA – International Meetings and Conferences Research Association (Azerbaijan).

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

References

1. Arya, P., & Kolapkar, A. (2024). A study on restaurant marketing strategies and the influence of social media for casual dining restaurants. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 11, C18–C39.
2. Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall.
3. Berey, L. A., & Pollay, R. W. (1968). The influencing role of the child in family decision making. Journal of Marketing Research, 5(1), 70–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224376800500109
4. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Harvard University Press.
5. Caruana, A., & Vassallo, R. (2003). Children’s perception of their influence over purchases: The role of parental communication patterns. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 20(1), 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760310456955
6. Castro, I. A., Williams, C. B., Madanat, H., Pickrel, J. L., Jun, H. J., Zive, M., & Ayala, G. X. (2016). Food ordering for children in restaurants: Multiple sources of influence on decision making. Public Health Nutrition, 19(13), 2404–2409. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980016000159
7. Cohen, J. F., Rimm, E. B., Davison, K. K., Cash, S. B., McInnis, K., & Economos, C. D. (2020). The role of parents and children in meal selection and consumption in quick service restaurants. Nutrients, 12(3), 735. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12030735
8. Dedeoğlu, B. B., Taheri, B., Okumus, F., & Gannon, M. (2020). Understanding the importance that consumers attach to social media sharing (ISMS): Scale development and validation. Tourism Management, 76, 103954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.103954
9. Dibie, V. M. (2021). Impact of children’s emotional influencing strategies on parental purchasing decision on children’s food. Kelaniya Journal of Management, 10(1), 1–15.
10. Hawkins, D. I., & Mothersbaugh, D. L. (2019). Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy (14th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
11. Jeevananda, S., & Kumar, S. (2012). Degree of children influences on parents buying decision process. International Journal of Marketing and Technology, 2(7), 153–169.
12. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Pearson.
13. Lakra, R., & Singh, P. (2024). Parental influence on children’s fast-food choices: A study of family decision-making. Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 5(6), 1167–1174.
14. Lindstrom, M. (2004). Brandchild: Remarkable Insights into the Minds of Today’s Global Kids and Their Relationships with Brands. Kogan Page.
15. Martensen, A., & Grønholdt, L. (2008). Children’s influence on family decision making. Innovative Marketing, 4(4), 14–22.
16. McNeal, J. U. (1992). Kids as Customers: A Handbook of Marketing to Children. Lexington Books.
17. Monalisa, N. N., Frongillo, E. A., Blake, C. E., Steck, S. E., & DiPietro, R. B. (2023). Strategies elementary school children use to influence mothers’ food purchasing decisions. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 19(4), e13539. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13539
18. Moschis, G. P. (1987). Consumer Socialization: A Life-Cycle Perspective. Lexington Books.
19. Nain, H. (2021). Emergence of children as influencers in family consumption decisions: A resource theory approach. South Asian Journal of Marketing, 2(2), 130–147. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAJM-02-2021-0010
20. Page, C., & Ridgway, N. (2001). The impact of consumer environments on consumption patterns of children from disparate socioeconomic backgrounds. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(1), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760110365780
21. Rounsefell, K., Gibson, S., McLean, S., Blair, M., Molenaar, A., Brennan, L., & McCaffrey, T. A. (2020). Social media, body image, and food choices in healthy young adults: A mixed-methods systematic review. Nutrition & Dietetics, 77(1), 19–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12581
22. Schiffman, L. G., & Kanuk, L. L. (2000). Consumer Behavior (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
23. Shahrokh, Z. D., & Khosravi, M. E. (2014). Children’s influence in family consumption decisions: An integrative approach. International Review of Management and Business Research, 3(2), 1275–1285.
24. Solomon, M. R. (2020). Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being (13th ed.). Pearson.
25. Ward, S. (1974). Consumer socialization. Journal of Consumer Research, 1(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1086/208584
26. Wootan, M. G. (2012). Children’s meals in restaurants: Families need more help to make healthy choices. Childhood Obesity, 8(1), 31–33. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2011.0102
27. Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis (2nd ed.). Harper & Row.