HOW POWER IS PESTER POWER? A MIX-METHOD STUDY

Moving from a critical reflection on mix-method studies, the paper presents the Italian validation of the Nag Factor Questionnaire developed by Ogba and Johnson (2010); this is the first Italian empirical study on nag factor. Pester power or nag factor is the children ability, by nagging, to push their parents to purchase the products they desire. Nag factor has been studied for its severe consequences on children obesity, since a lot of times kids nag for junk food and within a socio-educative perspective for its influence on materialism. This pilot study is triangulated: it implies a survey, realized with the Pester Power Scale, along with diaries written for a week by 10 mothers. Results show that pester power is definitely power: it fully mediates the relationship between marketing forces directed to kids and consumer behaviour expressed by parents. Moreover, mothers seem not always aware of the nagging ability of their kids and several times they chose bad solutions to cope with infant tantrum, like submissiveness. We propose some practical implications in terms of marketing for kids with a focus on packaging policies.