PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT VS. PARENTAL ENGAGEMENTIN FAMILY CONSUMPTION: A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This conceptual study explores the critical distinction between parental involvement and parental engagement within the context of family consumption. While both concepts are often used interchangeably, they represent fundamentally different forms of parental participation in children's consumer behavior. Parental involvement reflects a more passive, supervisory role in consumption-related decisions, whereas parental engagement emphasizes active collaboration, shared decision-making, and value co-creation between parents and children. Drawing on consumer behavior theories, the customer journey framework, and service-dominant logic, this study provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis supported by a narrative literature review. More than 40 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and other reputable academic databases were synthesized to build a theory-driven conceptual framework. The proposed model illustrates how parental roles influence different stages of the customer journey, offering strategic insights for marketers targeting family-based consumers. By highlighting these distinctions, this paper contributes to the marketing literature by clarifying parental roles in shaping consumption decisions and proposing implications for segmentation, communication strategies, and engagement-based branding. The study particularly addresses the Indonesian context, where parental influence plays a unique role in household decision-making.