An extension of the Bourne typology of reference group influence on product-related decisions

The Bourne (1957) typology of reference group influence on product ownership and brand decisions has received broad exposure and generated recent research on aspects of the typology's foundations. Although updates have recently been offered to the proposed product placements forwarded by Bourne, the typology itself is believed to be of limited present use without incorporating a third decision to the framework—the type or style of product. The merit of adding this third dimension was assessed using two samples of undergraduate students and a set of thirty student-generated product categories. Results of student perceptions provided general support for the study's basic premise. Implications and research directions are provided.The contributions of Parsu Parasuraman and Richard Sullivan are gratefully acknowledged.