(Press-News.org) Ask any parent raising kids in today's fast-paced society and chances are they would agree that there are only so many hours in the day. Recognizing a need for help, many businesses now offer traditional caregiving services ranging from planning birthday parties to teaching children how to ride a bike. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, by outsourcing traditional parental duties, modern-day parents feel they are ultimately protecting parenthood.
"Parents are increasingly outsourcing caregiving activities. The expanding array of caregiving services is blurring the boundaries between family and the marketplace and raising new questions about what is acceptable to outsource and how parents make sense of these sometimes contentious decisions," write authors Amber M. Epp and Sunaina R. Velagaleti (both University of Wisconsin, Madison).
To better understand the role of the marketplace in modern-day parenting, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with participants who varied in parenting views, practices, and challenges ranging from income to social class and the availability of help from immediate family.
The interviews revealed that parents are more willing to turn to the marketplace for help once they have provided a strong baseline of activities that allow them to direct how care is given, protect their connections as parents, and assert their role as the primary caregiver. Achieving this balance helps parents maintain their feelings of responsibility, control, and intimacy.
For instance, when deciding whether or not to hire someone to help plan their child's birthday party, parents might ask themselves if it is their job as a parent to do this (responsibility), how they might feel if the party planner doesn't do things the way they want them to be done (control), and whether or not they should be the person who has created the excitement and joy on their child's face (intimacy).
Understanding this can offer insight for companies looking to better market their services to parents. "Our findings run counter to the widespread idea that family and the local community should always be the first and second lines of parenting help. Often times, businesses can resolve parenting tensions more effectively due to the contractual nature of the services they provide," the authors conclude.
INFORMATION:
Amber M. Epp and Sunaina R. Velagaleti. "Outsourcing Parenthood? How Families Manage Care Assemblages Using Paid Commercial Services." Journal of Consumer Research: December 2014. For more information, contact Amber Epp (aepp@bus.wisc.edu) or visit http://ejcr.org/.
Outsourcing parenthood? It takes a village AND the marketplace to raise a child
2014-08-26
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Do we live in a 2-D hologram?
2014-08-26
A unique experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory called the Holometer has started collecting data that will answer some mind-bending questions about our universe – including whether we live in a hologram.
Much like characters on a television show would not know that their seemingly 3 - D world exists only on a 2 - D screen, we could be clueless that our 3 - D space is just an illusion. The information about everything in our universe could actually be encoded in tiny packets in two dimensions.
Get close enough to your TV screen ...
An inconvenient truth: Does responsible consumption benefit corporations more than society?
2014-08-26
Are environmental and social problems such as global warming and poverty the result of inadequate governmental regulations or does the burden fall on our failure as consumers to make better consumption choices? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, responsible consumption shifts the burden for solving global problems from governments to consumers and ultimately benefits corporations more than society.
"When businesses convince politicians to encourage responsible consumption instead of implementing policy changes to solve environmental and social ...
Getting things done: How does changing the way you think about deadlines help you reach your goals?
2014-08-26
From doing yard work to finishing up the last few classes required for a college degree, consumers struggle to get things done. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, the way consumers think about deadlines can determine whether or not they start tasks and accomplish their goals.
"Our research shows that the way consumers think about the future influences whether they get started on tasks. In particular, if the deadline for a task is categorized as being similar to the present, they are more likely to initiate the task," write authors Yanping Tu ...
Trash burning worldwide significantly worsens air pollution
2014-08-26
BOULDER -- Unregulated trash burning around the globe is pumping far more pollution into the atmosphere than shown by official records. A new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research estimates that more than 40 percent of the world's garbage is burned in such fires, emitting gases and particles that can substantially affect human health and climate change.
The new study provides the first rough estimates, on a country-by-country basis, of pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide, and mercury that are emitted by the fires. Such pollutants have ...
Fact or fiction: Which do moviegoers prefer?
2014-08-26
Do you feel sadder watching a documentary about war or a drama about a young person dying of cancer? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers mistakenly believe they will have stronger emotional reactions when stories are based on true events rather than fiction.
"Consumers may choose to read a tragic fictional story because they assume that knowing it was fictional would make them less sad than reading a less dramatic, but true story," write authors Jane E. J. Ebert (Brandeis University) and Tom Meyvis (New York University). "However, the ...
No purchase required to win? Devoted customers not so sure
2014-08-26
COLUMBUS, Ohio – You've probably seen – or even participated in – promotional contests offered by retailers in which they say "no purchase required to win."
But if you're a loyal customer of that retailer, you don't necessarily believe that, a new study suggests. You figure you must have some secret advantage over other, less-devoted customers.
In fact, the new research finds that loyal customers of a company feel that they are more likely and more deserving than others to win perks from the business – even those that are randomly given out.
"This is driven by people's ...
Are consumers more likely to purchase unintentionally green products?
2014-08-26
A Fortune 500 company is redesigning a popular product using materials that are friendlier to the environment. How will consumers respond to the newly redesigned, "greener" product? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers are more likely to purchase a product if they think helping the environment is not the intended purpose of a product improvement.
"When a company makes a product that is better for the environment, consumers are actually less likely to purchase it if the environmental benefit is perceived as intentional rather than the ...
How do former churchgoers build a new moral identity?
2014-08-26
As their moral perspectives change, disillusioned churchgoers find it increasingly difficult to remain associated with their church, yet many also find it difficult to leave. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, former churchgoers experience deep identity crises as their most important relationships and beliefs are put at risk.
"Our research examines currently unsatisfied and former members of the Mormon Church, exploring the experiences of people who have lost their faith in the institution that structured both their morality and their day-to-day ...
ZigBee in the Sky
2014-08-26
26 August 2014 - A team of engineers from Singapore has successfully piloted the world's first ZigBee wireless sensor network (WSN) for satellite communications.
With the weight of payloads being a major constraint in satellite design, constructing a lightweight, low power-consuming, wireless communication system to do away with cabling inside the satellite has always been a challenge for system designers.
The engineering team at the Satellite Research Centre of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore launched VELOX-I, which consists of a nanosatellite weighing ...
Key to speed? Elite sprinters are unlike other athletes -- deliver forceful punch to ground
2014-08-26
VIDEO:
The contemporary view of running mechanics has been heavily influenced by the simple spring-mass model, a theory first formulated in the late 1980s. The spring-mass model assumes the legs work...
Click here for more information.
The world's fastest sprinters have unique gait features that account for their ability to achieve fast speeds, according to two new studies from Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
The new findings indicate that the secret to elite sprinting ...