Emotional intelligence influence on the role of reference groups in purchase decision: A research for specialty and convenience goods

The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of emotional intelligence on the role of reference groups for specialty and convenience goods. To test hypotheses, data were collected from 353 participants through a survey. The data were tested by SPSS program with paired sample t test and linear regression analysis. According to the analysis results, the informational and normative role of the reference groups in the product decision has been determined. In this context, there is a significant difference between the roles of the reference groups for specialty and convenience goods. The role of reference groups in the decision to purchase specialty goods is much more than that the role of reference groups in the decision to purchase convenience goods. In addition, in both product categories, the informational role of reference groups is more effective than the normative role. It has also been found that emotional intelligence positively influences the informational role in decision to purchase specialty and convenience goods. However, emotional intelligence did not have a significant effect on the normative role in the decision to purchase specialty and convenience goods.