ABSTRACT

Choices we make are oftentimes shaped by people we are in a relationship with. Surprisingly, most tourism research assumes that the decision-maker is a single individual who is not influenced by their significant others. To fill in this gap, this study investigated how couples make complex vacation-related choices, and which decision reaching strategies they practice. By means of in-depth interviews with nine Norwegian couples, we examined which interpersonal factors affect decisions couples make together. Using grounded theory we developed a conceptual model of couple decision-making, which illustrates mechanisms within couple decision-making. The model suggests that certain subcategories of relationship attributes, interpersonal communication, and process involvement influence whether a couple uses democratic or monocratic decision-reaching strategies. The model we introduce has incorporated concepts that, at present, have received little or no attention in relation to complex decisions, in particular the vacation-related ones. We suggest six propositions for future research, and implications for vacation-related businesses and group decision-making are discussed.

摘要

我们做出的选择通常取决于与我们有关系的人。出乎意料的是，大多数旅游研究都假设决策者是一个个人，不受其他重要人物的影响。为了填补这一空白，本研究调查了夫妻如何做出与假期相关的复杂选择，以及他们所采用的决策达成策略。通过对九对挪威夫妇的深入访谈，我们研究了哪些人际因素会影响夫妇共同做出的决定。使用扎根理论，我们开发了情侣决策的概念模型，该模型说明了情侣决策中的机制。该模型建议关系属性，人际交流，而过程的参与会影响夫妻是否采用民主或专制的决策策略。我们介绍的模型已纳入一些概念，这些概念目前在复杂决策（尤其是与假期相关的决策）方面很少受到关注，甚至没有受到关注。我们建议对未来的研究提出六点建议，并讨论对假期相关业务和团队决策的影响。