Socialization and the buying behaviour of the Arab child consumers: insights from Oman

Purpose This paper aims to explore and analyze the various consumer socialization agents for the young Omani Arab children, who play a key role in the family purchase process. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method research approach was adopted in the form of a survey and short interviews for the study. The study was performed on the children in the age group of 7-14 years, enrolled in Omani schools. The socialization factors were grouped through the exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis was conducted to assess the impact of the factors on the purchase of various product categories. Finally, short personal interviews with the children were made to validate the results. Findings A model was proposed incorporating the four different socialization patterns of Omani children involving parents, friends, television and internet. The model was tested with the purchase of different product categories through multiple regression analysis. The results supported the parents, television and friends while rejected the internet as a means of socialization of Omani children. The qualitative analysis also revealed the same results, further incorporating the role of other family members in the socialization of the children. Research limitations/implications A research gap exists in the consumer literature related to the Arab child socialization as the previous scholars had contributed mainly in the developed Western context, hence, demanding further research studies in the young Arab consumers' perspective. Practical implications Being the first of its type in the regional context, the research is important for the researchers who wish to understand the socialization process and its agents for the Omani Arab children. The research provides insights about the psychology of Omani children towards the products, which can aid the marketers to design appropriate marketing programmes targeting the growing child segment in the Arab world. Originality/value A significant research gap exists and suggests a research study on the patterns of socialization of the Arab children as no similar research had been previously conducted related to this context on child socialization. This research will serve as a base for future research studies in the socialization and purchase behavior of the Arab children.