Abstract
A pattern found in many marketing systems, “male breadwinning,” is contingent upon overlapping and shared ideologies, which influence the economic organization and thus the type and number of relationships in those systems. Implementing a mixed-methods research methodology, this article continues and extends previous work in macromarketing on the interplay of markets, ideology, socio-economic organization, and family. A qualitative study illuminated the main ideologies behind male breadwinning and a model was developed to advance the theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of male breadwinning. An experiment in the form of a vignette study was subsequently designed and administered. The qualitative study and the vignette study both show ideologies interact in the way individuals make sense of them or allow them to influence their decisions. The results have implications for the way families and markets are organized, such as the supply of labor of men and women and the offerings of care-related public and private services in a broader marketing system.
Keywords
Introduction
“Breadwinning” is a dominant concept in family sociology (Warren 2007) and other areas of family research within a wide variety of disciplines (e.g., Commuri and Gentry 2005; Lewis 2003; Reilly 1982). Building upon previous macromarketing studies (Nill and Shultz 2010), this article aims at the identification of ideas and values, and subjective factors that influence this phenomenon. It also explores the connection of ideas and values to ideologies (frameworks of ideas). Objective factors of influence on male breadwinner ideology (MBI) have been studied in detail (Warren 2007); the impact of subjective factors is still under-researched. Thus, another primary aim is the development of an analytical instrument, the Male Breadwinner Model (MBM), to supplement studies of objective factors of influence on the phenomenon and to guide future research. The MBM is a plausible explanatory framework to improve our understanding of male breadwinning (cf. Ylikoski and Aydinonat 2014); it suggests which ideologies could have furthered or caused male breadwinning in concrete historical situations. With respect to theory, we build on what Dubois and Gadde (2002, p. 558) call “an articulated preconception” of theories on ideologies. A mixed-methods approach (Creswell et al. 2003; Harrison 2013; Harrison and Reilly 2011) or abductive research strategy (Dubois and Gadde 2002) was used. The procedure is characterized by the interaction of information retrieved from theories and empirical studies (see also Campbell and Fiske 1959; Jick 1979) and is thought to expand the understanding of constructs, theory and empirical findings. An overview of the research process is found in Table 1.
The Abductive Research Strategy.
The article is organized as follows. First, we approach male breadwinning as a macromarketing issue, discuss concepts of ideology, and describe relevant German institutions. We then describe the qualitative study, ideas and values from which led to the development of a MBM and the identification of five ideologies of relevance for male breadwinning: political ideology, economic ideology, domesticity ideology, gender ideology, and family ideology. Next, we analyzed how these ideologies are related via shared ideas and values. Ideologies have an objective dimension that can be studied without reference to individuals or groups who believe in them. However, without individuals or groups who believe in ideas, who share beliefs and values with others, and make them the basis of decisions, ideologies are unlikely to become practical and to have impact on any marketing system. Finally, we conducted a vignette study that contributes to the development of instruments, which can inform private as well as public decision-making units about the ideologies relevant for actual as well as potential marketing systems and the influence they have on the demand for particular offerings. The article ends with a discussion, including directions for future research.
Male Breadwinner Ideology as a Macromarketing Issue
Influence on Marketing Systems
The MBI assumes that the husband should be the primary income provider and the wife should be the primary caretaker of the family and household.
The MBI shapes marketing systems as follows: The MBI influences the access to resources achieved through paid labor. With it, the MBI influences the type and number of “players” in markets, and in organizations acting on markets. For example, the MBI has a profound influence on deciding whether one partner of the family should primarily stay at home. The MBI has an impact on the type of offerings wished-for as market offerings (compared with non-market “offerings” resulting from household production). Thus, the MBI plays a part in the discussion about the provision of care for children and the elderly. From an economic perspective, the MBI can be translated into a preference for household production over the services provided by non-profit organizations (including governments) or for-profit organizations in the fields of health and care-related offerings. The MBI influences the type and the degree of governmental versus private contributions to the social good, which are accepted or wished-for in a market system. Thus, the MBI is also a public policy issue.
Concepts of Ideology
Ideologies are mental phenomena to which individuals and collective entities such as groups and organizations implicitly or explicitly refer in the process of decision-making (Nill and Shultz 2010). Ideologies have both subjective and objective dimensions that interact, and they both restrict and enable market processes. Ideologies influence the ways actors conceive and enact their roles in market and non-market relationships and, accordingly, the economic organization and type and number of relationships in marketing systems “embedded in a social matrix” (Layton 2009, p. 354).
Groups, organizations, communities, or nation-states can be characterized partly by common and/or different ideologies, leading to what Geuss (1981) has named “descriptive ideology.” Drawing on the descriptive approach to the study of ideology, we do not intend to assess particular ideologies with respect to their possible wrongness or their potential to initiate or guide social or political movements (Althusser 1971; Finlayson 2005; Habermas 1989 [1962]; Habermas 1987 [1981]; Shils 1968). We thus use the concept in the descriptive sense. We recognize it as a constitutive part of the social world, a position shared by diverse scientific disciplines and reaching back to ideas posited by Weber (2002, [1905]). Ideologies result from different though related sources, often residing in the personal experience of individuals and in the social intercourse between individuals (Cheal 1979, p. 110). Cheal distinguishes practical ideas (based on experience), and received ideas (based on social intercourse). The distinction between the conscious and the unconscious has been addressed to separate ideology from knowledge. We assume that both the conscious and the unconscious play a part for putting ideology into effect (Buchanan 2014; Williams 1977), but do not think that a clear separation can be drawn along the lines of knowledge (exemplifying the conscious) and ideology (exemplifying the unconscious) (Da Fonseca 1991, ch. 11). However, the distinction between knowledge and ideology is not at the center of this article. Instead, it relates to Althusser’s (1969) view that ideologies orient subjects toward their practical tasks within society. As argued by James (1902, xi), “(m)odern science rules out the concept of personality.” It has overthrown or at least restricted the importance of the subjective point of view. Science builds theory without regard to its meaning for the sorrows or fate of individuals (James 1902). 1 Ideology does not work this way. To become practically relevant, ideologies have to be put into practice by individuals, groups, or organizations. With respect to individuals, ideologies find expression in individual mental models and unfold their impact via mechanisms still to explore. In their objective dimension, ideologies are frameworks of ideas, that is, they have a systematic aspect that makes them similar to theories.
We assume that values influence the formation and transformation of ideologies. Values are social constructs separate from, but also related to ideologies (Rescher 1969). Ideas and values might be constitutive for or in effect in more than one ideology; thus, ideologies can “overlap” (Cheal 1979, p. 113). As ideologies do not have to fulfill a consistency condition, the ideas and values characterizing different but overlapping ideologies also can conflict. It is part of our “articulated theoretical preconception” that “male breadwinning” designates effects of shared and overlapping ideologies. Consistent with Denzau and North (1994), we use the expression “shared ideology” for cognitively shared frameworks of ideas or belief systems (see also Van Dijk 2006). That an ideology is shared within a group means that the group members refer to the same ideology, though not necessarily to the same degree and to all ideas in a framework of ideas. Shared ideologies create a disposition to act in accordance with a particular ideology (group of ideologies).
Putting ideologies into practice requires the interplay of macro-phenomena and micro-social processes: ideologies as objective mental phenomena influence the individuals’ interpretation of social reality, the decisions made in the private and public arena, and the activities accruing from these decisions. On the other hand, individuals are not simply passive receivers of inputs having their origin at the macro or meso level of analysis. They also play an active part, particularly when assessing and ranking ideas and values. It can be assumed that individuals take an active part in the process of making particular ideas effective for their belief system (Festinger 1957; Piaget 1972).
Relevant German Institutions
Institutions shape the action conditions in marketing systems. In this article, we refer to German institutions that have been implemented or amended in recent years, subsequent to reunification and which we assume to interact with MBI. A comprehensive presentation and discussion of the German institutional framework is not intended.
In Germany, women are confronted with many challenges, notably when they have children and wish to remain in or to rejoin the labor market. Most public schools in Germany, especially those for younger children are open only half-day. Ganztagsschulen (schools open all day) are still rare. Variances and nuances in funding policies can compound these problems. For example, the Betreuungsgeld implemented in 2013 provides monthly 100 to 150 Euro (depending on the age of a child) to families who keep their one- or two-year old children at home, that is, the children do not attend public kindergartens. Moreover, socially disadvantaged families, or parents without graduation from the German school system, or migrants, have preferred the Betreuungsgeld to kindergartens (Süddeutsche Zeitung 2014). The Elterngeld (implemented 2006 and amended 2013) is a monthly income (between 300 Euro and 1800 Euro for 14 months at longest), paid by the government to that parent who interrupts his or her employment while taking care of his/her child (see BMFSFJ 2014). The Elterngeld Plus – enacted by the German Bundestag in November 2014 and to take effect July 1, 2015 – stretches the period for which the benefit is granted, from 14 to 28 months. The absolute amount of money is not increased, compared with the Elterngeld. The effects of the Betreuungsgeld and the Elterngeld add to those of the so-called Ehegattensplitting, a tax splitting system for heterosexual, married couples. “Ehegattensplitting” means that the taxable income of both partners is added and divided by two. Couples with the taxable income X pay the same tax independent of what each partner has contributed to X. The effect of the Ehegattensplitting is greatest if only one partner works: the single income is treated as if resulting from the labor of both partners and the tax payment reduced.
We submit that such interconnected complexities are perhaps best studied using a mixed-methods approach embedded into an abductive research design, as described below.
Sequential Exploratory Mixed-Methods Research Design
The post-positivist research paradigm that assumes an objective view of reality and the interpretivist paradigm that assumes the existence of socially constructed multiple realities are both widely discussed and accepted. Mixed-methods approaches, which are still relatively scarce in the marketing literature, do not exclusively follow either research paradigm (Haase 2010; Harrison 2013; Harrison and Reilly 2011; Storbacka 2014). We have embedded the design of our mixed-methods research procedure in an exploratory strategy that is philosophically aligned with pragmatism and embraces inquires based on deduction, induction, and abduction (Bahl and Milne 2006; Creswell et al. 2003; Morgan 2014; Peirce 1931).
Mixed-methods research has been defined as “the type of research in which a researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches … for the broad purpose of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration” (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, and Turner 2007, p. 123). For this study we used a sequential exploratory mixed-methods research design. We first conducted a qualitative study based on grounded theory. Our qualitative findings were used to develop a classification system of partly overlapping ideologies that builds the conceptual basis for the ensuing vignette study (factorial survey). This exploratory research design was specifically useful for bringing together a more comprehensive account (Bryman 2006; Harrison 2013) of the emerging explanation of phenomena concerning the MBI. The overall rationale for employing a mixed-methods research design was to combine the advantages of qualitative research, which is more apt for understanding and uncovering meanings behind male breadwinner ideologies, with quantitative research, which is more apt for answering questions about relationships between specific variables – in our case ideologies and values (Creswell and Plano Clark 2011; Harrison 2013).
The mixed-methods research procedure was part of the abductive research strategy that justifies the use of the word “exploratory.” Schurz (2008, p. 203) emphasizes the “strategic role of abductions as means for discovery.” The strategic function of abductions “consists in finding a most promising conjecture (conclusion), which is set out to further empirical test operations, or in Hintikka’s words, which stimulates new questions (Hintikka 1998, p. 528; Hintikka, Halonen, and Mutanen 1999 sec. 14).” (Schurz 2008, p. 203). As pointed out by Dubois and Gadde (2002, p. 559), an abductive approach is fruitful if the researcher’s objective is to discover new insights, including different variables and new relationships. We are investigating the origin of ideas and values that underlie the MBI, how they are linked to each other and enacted in concrete situations. As we are targeting model development our attempt coincides with the grounded theory approach (see section four). Based on the “articulated theoretical preconception” that was available prior to the qualitative study, the MBM evolved in reaction to the information that we took from empirical observations, that is, an in-depth qualitative study. The process of going back and forth between theory (model) and empirical phenomena was continued with a factorial survey designed to apply the model and to gain information useful in guiding further refinements or improvements of the model. This procedure creates a “fruitful cross-fertilization where new combinations are developed through a mixture of established theoretical models and new concepts derived from the confrontation with reality” (Dubois and Gadde 2002, p. 559).
As previously addressed in the introduction, a research gap exists with respect to the subjective aspects of the concept of male breadwinning and its objective dimensions, the latter having been analyzed in many sociological studies (Warren 2007). Our study tries to fill this gap by focusing on the subjective and its interplay with the objective dimensions. The qualitative study identified subjective dimensions of MBI in Germany, in other words, a specific set of ideas and values indicative of the actual expression of MBI. The study led to the identification of unanticipated interactions and value conflicts among ideologies from different origins.
The Qualitative Study
The Interviews and their Results
Consistent with our goal to develop a theoretical model in order to provide a better understanding of the subjective side of MBI, we decided firstly to conduct a qualitative study based on grounded theory. A common misperception is that the researcher is expected to enter the field ignorant of any theory or associated literature relating to the phenomena (Goulding 2005). Actually, the challenge for the researcher is to find a balance between drawing on prior knowledge while keeping a fresh and open mind to new concepts as they emerge from the data. “Indeed the trick is to line up what one takes as theoretically possible or probable with what one is finding in the field” (Glaser and Strauss 1967, p. 253). Grounded theory is a method of choice for uncovering new theoretical insight and for providing a fresh slant on existing knowledge (Creswell 2012; Glaser and Strauss 1967; Goulding 1998). Further, it is also a methodology particularly suited to situations that have a symbolic element to them (Goulding 2005).
Between June 2010 and August 2012, we conducted in-depth interviews (McCracken 1988; Thompson, Locander, and Pollio 1989) with 13 heterosexual couples/informants in Germany. To further the overarching objective of this study, we focused on informants for whom the MBI has potentially some real-life relevance. That is, we were interested in informants who are concerned with or affected by the decision of how to organize – traditional or otherwise – family life. Thus, informants who have consciously deselected the option of a traditional family are potentially also included. Most initial interviews were conducted at public places, such as beer gardens in Bavaria. Most couples were interviewed together versus separately. While, this format may have influenced responses, we believe that a potential response-bias was not evident and is not problematical to our study. Subjects furthermore responded separately in our quantitative study described below. To assure anonymity, which was promised to all participants, all names have been changed. No incentives were offered for participating in the interviews. The verbatim quotes were independently back-translated by authors whose primary language is German.
Every couple was interviewed at least twice. Using a theoretical sampling approach, the first set of interviews was truly exploratory in the spirit of grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967), eliciting informants’ feelings, experiences, and thoughts about family living and family policy in Germany. Unlike conventional sampling, which usually precedes analysis and aims at producing findings that are representative of a population, theoretical sampling can be understood as an iterative process of sampling decisions and concept development. In grounded theory sampling is mainly concerned with the contribution of new sources of data to the conceptual development (Dey 1999). Glaser and Strauss (1967, p. 45) state: “Theoretical sampling is the process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes and analyzes his data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them, in order to develop his theory as it emerges.”
The values behind the traditional MBI as well as couples’ feelings towards actual family policy instruments came into sight as tentative cores. A tentative core pulls together all the concepts in order to offer an explanation of the phenomena under question (Goulding 2005), or provides the main story line of the study (Glaser and Strauss 1967).
The second set of interviews was more focused and guided by the tentative core that emerged in the first set. Also, the interviewing process was informed by the relevant literature. In turn, analysis of the data suggested which literature is relevant. This process should facilitate a deep immersion into the area of exploration and find a balance between inductive and deductive reasoning (Clarke 2005; Strauss and Corbin 1998). What Dubois and Gadde labeled “systematic combining” is similar to Strauss and Corbin (1998), who argue that theory building requires researchers to move between asking questions, generating hypotheses, and making comparisons to reframe existing perceptions.
The results of the qualitative study helped to identify the central ideas and values behind the MBI, as well as the linkage of male breadwinning with gender, family, and policy. The following short excerpts from the interviews are indicative of the connection between ideas and values related to male breadwinning, family, governmental support, and the mother mythos. These are the value themes or ideas that emerged as central to the phenomenon of interest (see Creswell 2012; Goulding 1998).
Male breadwinning
Most couples felt that the husband should be the primary provider for the family. This basic value behind the MBI – husband’s role as good provider – has been reported in the literature in Germany as well as in other countries (Commuri and Gentry 2005; Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 412; Träger 2009). As a woman, I cherish and value economic security. It is a good feeling to know that I don’t have to go to work. I like to go to work but it is a relief that survival of my family does not depend on me working (Gudrun). I really liked it when Dorit still brought home money. (Dorit stopped working after having a baby.) The more money the better. In the end, I feel it is truly my responsibility to make sure we are fine financially. I would not be a good husband and more importantly, I probably would not be a real man, if our family solely depended on her (Andi).
Family
The ideal family is a married couple with children. Most interviewees had fond feelings towards this definition of an ideal family: I guess being married and having a couple of kids is the ideal family. You can live differently and you should be able to do so of course – but traditionally and what comes to mind as an ideal family is being married with kids. (Franz) I think the tax laws are meant to support the family. I can see that the tax is also somewhat unfair but supporting families is a good and important goal overall. (Gisela)
Governmental support
In addition, the results pointed to conflicts among the value systems having their origin in different but overlapping ideologies. As the data show, the interviewees seem to hold contradictory values: On the one hand, they opt for more governmental support (financial transfers as well as investments into the infrastructure of child care): Everything is so expensive. The money we get from Elterngeld is needed to pay for the extra expenses of having a baby. Families with kids really need financial help (Dorit). Of course I like Elterngeld. It is like a little gift. We get 60% of Dorit’s salary for one year even so she would have stayed home, anyway. The basic idea of Elterngeld is to help families. This is a good idea. However, it is also a big waste. Elterngeld has no impact on people’s decisions to have or not have babies, to work or not to work (Andi). I would like to take my job more seriously but there is absolutely no time. Marcus is at work at least until 5 or 6 pm. So someone has to pick up our kids from school and help them with homework. It would be very helpful if we had more Ganztagsschulen (Ines). It’s almost ridiculous. First we did not get a place for our daughter at all. Now that we have a place, it is 35 minutes away from our home. More childcare centers would really be helpful (Sabrina). I much rather would stay at home and spend more time with my kids. However, without my salary we wouldn’t be able to pay the rent. I only go to work because I have to (Anette). Our lives are already heavily regulated. As soon as I leave our home, driving to work means watching the speed limit, following all the rules. At work (Werner works at a financial institution) there are more laws and governmental regulations. My home and my family certainly don’t need more government (Werner). I don’t want government telling me how to raise my kids. It is important to me that my kids learn the right things, the right values and so on. I mean it is up to me and Rudolf to teach our kids right from wrong (Gisela). Government has no place in family affairs. Family decisions are personal decisions. I guess I should be free in my private life; and my family is a big part of my private life. We have to be able to do what we want at least when it comes to personal decisions. Government has to stay out of those things (Franz). Once government starts controlling your family life – just as the Nazi’s did – it’s over. That would be the end of a normal life (Marcus).
Mother mythos
The call for more childcare centers and Ganztagsschulen poses a potential conflict with another value behind the MBI: The glorification of the mother as caretaker of the children. The mother mythos has been documented in the literature (Kolbe 2002; Kolinsky 1998; Letablier and Jönsson 2003; Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 404; Ridgeway 2011; Rosenbaum and Timm 2008). Accordingly, the mother is irreplaceable in providing the best possible care for children: If push comes to shove no one can replace the mother. I am the first person my child interacts with when he wakes up in the morning. I am the last person he is with before going to bed at night. I am the person he shares his joys and grievances with. My love, attention, and support is what he depends upon most (Lisa). I am staying at home right now with Mariechen until she is at least one year old. I would not feel comfortable having someone else watching her at such a young age. However, once she is older, I do not want to be a homemaker anymore. I want to go back to my job. I need to have other interests than raising a child (Dorit).
Value Conflicts
The data show the possible existence of a gap between the observable (measurable) behavior of individuals and the values they hold. This situation is indicative of the presence of a value conflict. Ideas and values that are (consciously or unconsciously) in effect within the belief systems of human subjects are not always consistent and can even be contradictory. Of the 13 couples interviewed, both members of four couples had fulltime jobs, five where one spouse (the male) had a full time job and his partner had a part time job, three where the male was the only income provider, one where both had a part time job. More interestingly, of the four couples in which both had full time jobs (see Table 2), three were – at least in part – supporting some of the values behind the MBI (see the left box in Figure 1).
Ideologies and Value Conflicts Identified by the Qualitative Study.
Informant Profiles.
* Key: P = Post graduate, G = Graduate (University degree), S = Secondary school (includes apprenticeship degree), N = No degree
The data from this qualitative study point to two value conflicts and hint at how the agents are trying to solve them. In order to describe these value conflicts, we anticipate our analysis of the effects of political and ethical ideology (see next section). The first value conflict has its origin in the overlapping of political and ethical ideology; the second one in a conflict between gender ideology (mother mythos) and political ideology (as described in the next section). In the first conflict, personal autonomy (as expressed in Marcus’ statement) and an anti-paternalistic stance toward the government go hand in hand – “more or less government” is thus a misleading juxtaposition. Governmental support in the form of financial transfers does not intervene with personal autonomy (the Elterngeld as well as the Betreuungsgeld fits smoothly into that). The same can be said with respect to infrastructure investments by the state in the form of child-care centers (kindergartens, Ganztagsschulen) of which parents can make use on a transactional basis. Even couples who dispute the idea of male breadwinning might be willing to apply for the Elterngeld, and those who agree with it, do not necessarily make their decision dependent on it (see Andi’s statement above). Regarding the second value conflict, some interviewees have glorified the role of the mother (the mother is the best care taker), on the one hand and called for more child-care centers, on the other. MBI can go hand in hand with the choice of – from the perspective of the mother mythos – the second-best option, namely the let-make option with respect to child care (in case of the choice). 2 If several values are in play, individuals probably need to be able to rank them, otherwise they would lose their ability to act (see Anette’s statement). The value conflicts identified by the qualitative study are summarized in Figure 1.
In part, contradictory values can be explained by the observation that MBI is grounded in overlapping, different ideologies. Ideologies do not have to fulfill a consistency condition, and the values underlying ideologies can contradict each other. After combining the “articulated theoretical precondition” with the information gained from the qualitative study and for further theoretical analysis, it can be shown that some values held by the interviewees in our sample are only prima-facie contradictory. Drawing on Schurz’s (2008) distinction between selective abduction and creative abduction and the results of the qualitative study, we developed a theoretical model able to explain the impact of overlapping and conflicting ideas and values on male breadwinning. Creative abduction is a research strategy that, based on available empirical evidence, introduces new theoretical models. The constituents of the model presented in Figure 2 are explained in the next section.
Interactions of Ideologies: The Male Breadwinner Model.
Note that Figure 2 is not a representation of the ideologies “at work” in general, independent of culture and history; rather, it emerged from what we identified over the course of our research or was included in the “articulated theoretical precondition.” In Figure 2, the sharing of ideas (arrow points in one direction) is distinguished from the interaction of ideas (bi-directional arrow). This distinction is hypothetical in nature and needs further empirical exploration. Dotted arrows mark gender ideology.
Ideas and Values Underlying Male Breadwinner Ideology
Five Ideologies of Relevance for the MBM
According to the MBM, male breadwinning is influenced by different and overlapping ideologies. From our interpretation of the qualitative study we derived five ideologies: political, economic, domesticity, gender, and family. We discuss them with respect to what we consider the main characteristics of relevance to our topic.
Political ideology
Liberalism (Bell 2012; Etzioni 2013) underlies the development of political and economic theory (Lodge 1982), and is thus a source of those ideas that we link with political and economic ideology. These ideologies highlight the role of individual agency and the market in regard to the solution of individual as well as social problems, compared to the part the state is assumed or granted to play. Compared with communitarianism, liberalism downplays the community and prefers shedding light on individual actors able to impinge their will on the world (Bell 2012, p. 6). These different views find expression in the understanding of the relationships of state and family. That the state should stay out of family affairs is an expression of the rejection of shared responsibility among state and families. State-intervention runs counter to the principle of subsidiarity in the tradition of Catholic Social Thought that limits governmental support to those problems that cannot be solved by other entities, such as firms, local communities, families, or individuals (Brennan 2012, p. 7).
Economic ideology
Ideas related to self-interest, and the ways it can lead or contribute to the achievement of the common good, constitute an important part of economic ideology. At the intersection of the ideology of domesticity and economic ideology (indicated by the double arrow in Figure 2), one can locate the belief that particularly “sensitive” parts of the (socio-) economy (especially those connected with care and human relationships) cannot be managed under the rule of “anonymous” market relationships. The axiom quid pro quo, which characterizes economic exchange, does not work adequately in social relationships (Bagozzi 1975, pp. 33, 64). In his characterization of social relationships, Bagozzi (1975, p. 38) draws on the distinction of the private and the public on the one hand, and the economic and the social, on the other: “Social relationships (as opposed to economic relationships) are those such as family planning agent-client, welfare agent-indigent, social worker-poor person, and so on.”
Ideology of domesticity, gender ideology, and family ideology
The ideology of domesticity has been developed against the backdrop of the industrial revolution. The link of the ideology of domesticity with gender ideology can be considered as follows: in an economy that moved from subsistence to a monetary base, paid work became distinct from non-paid work at home. This revolution gave rise to the ideology of domesticity; a gender system that justifies and sustains a separation in the “public” and “private” spheres of life (Haddock and Bowling 2001, p. 93). The system is characterized by worker norms based on the distinction between breadwinning and caring on the one hand, and values characterizing personal identity, on the other.
Gender ideology guides the division of responsibility among married (heterosexual) couples (see Ridgeway 2011, p. 413, for a discussion of gay and lesbian families). That is, it links the public sphere with the male sphere and the private sphere with the female sphere. The linkage of the ideology of domesticity and family ideology has been coined “gender ideology.” According to Figure 2, MBI is an outflow of gender ideology and the particular way gender ideology has been linked with the ideology of domesticity and family ideology.
If we look at family ideology from the perspective of liberalism, family ideology might be considered the flip side of domesticity. The industrial revolution emptied the social domain from its connection with the marketplace and gave rise to the impression that the family is a private, non-public sphere. The distinction, however, between the private and the public, or the idea that the government should/should not interfere with the private life, or should/should not become a market actor does not draw on gender ideology, but on political and economic ideology.
Figure 2 represents the way ideologies, which operate in case of male breadwinning as an empirical phenomenon, are related to each other. In order to understand the respective framework of ideas and their interactions, special emphasis is laid on what we call “hub concepts.” These hub concepts do not only help to describe what is, but can also guide our interest in the change of the actual state.
Hub Concepts and Values that Link Ideologies
Political science, economics, and ethics share an early common history. From this origin, ideas and values have evolved that are embodied in concepts such as autonomy, agency, or responsibility. They are examples of “hub concepts” cutting across ideologies.
Autonomy
As Christman (2009, p. 1) notes, “autonomy as a central value can be contrasted with alternative frameworks such as an ethic of care, utilitarianism of some kinds, and an ethic of virtue.” Autonomy is central to the Kantian understanding (model) of the person. Personal autonomy is a trait that individuals can show with respect to all aspects in their life. Thus, personal autonomy goes beyond moral autonomy. In both cases, autonomy runs contrary to all attempts to paternalistically intervene in the decisions of other persons. What characterizes paternalism is not a particular type of action, but the justification given for it (Christman 2009, p. 7). Interpersonal paternalism does result from the patriarchal family, whereas legal paternalism ensues from state decisions (Feinberg 1971).
Agency
The concept of agency is of particular importance in political science, economics, and ethics. Kleinaltenkamp et al. (2012) point to the prominent role of agency in the context of resource integration. Human agency is “seen as the ability of self-reflexive actors to act with choice” (Kleinaltenkamp et al. 2012, p. 194). Liberals (or libertarians) do not have to deny the assumption that individual choice and action take place within a framework given by society or the impact of culture, respectively (Bell 2012, p. 7; see Hayek 1976, p. 15 for the view that individualism is a theory of society). Liberalists put emphasis on freedom and individual diversity. They assume that choice is intrinsically valuable, and that individuals have to choose between freedom and equality (Bell 2012, p. 6). Compared with the liberalist view, communitarians have to choose among the “many valued forms of communal life in the modern world” (Bell 2012, p. 10, italics in the original).
Against this backdrop, the MBI restricts or denies the agency of women and therefore limits the responsibility of women for their affairs. Older strands of family ideology, particularly those related with the patriarchal family, have explicitly denied the responsibility of women for public and economic affairs, in connection with the refusal of citizenship rights.
Responsibility
Responsibility presumes agency (Eshleman 2009). This article refers to the definition of the concept of responsibility as a multidimensional entity (Höffe 2010). In particular, this definition includes the following variables: the subject of responsibility (e.g., the caretaking mother), the object of responsibility (e.g., the care toward family members), the instance of responsibility (specified as differently as exemplified by God, the conscience, nature and history, or stakeholders), and the principle(s) or criteria that specify why somebody is responsible. The concept of responsibility refers to ethical or non-ethical principles or criteria to justify the responsibility of an actor. These principles draw on ethical or non-ethical knowledge, which, in case of the MBI, can be substituted for gender ideology. The view that the female is primarily responsible for household duties and/or childcare can be the consequence of such a substitution. The “culturally presumed” moral responsibility of women “for the care and the well-being of children and the making of a home” (Ridgeway 2011, p. 128) is an example for a case in which ethical judgment has been substituted for ideology.
Models of family have been discussed in terms of responsibility (see Lewis 2003, p. 107; Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, pp. 406ff.). Basically, responsibility can be assumed for oneself or as shared either among family members or among family and community. For this reason, convictions about the way responsibility is (or should be) shared within couples or families, or between families and communities, are indicative of the impact of the MBI. They are also an effect of political ideology. Eichler’s (1997) discussion of three views on family is an example for the connection of “responsibility” with both family ideology and political ideology. (1) In the patriarchal family agency is granted only to men who, consequently, are then also responsible for the consequences of the actions undertaken by them. Women, even if conducting housework, cannot be made responsible for it (or its consequences) because they do not possess the freedom that agency presupposes. (2) With equal responsibility men and women are assumed to take equal responsibility for economic and care contributions in families. (3) Social responsibility means the public shares responsibility with parents for the care of dependents.
Traditional gender ideology in general and the idea of male breadwinning in particular seem to create a patriarchal family. The combination of domesticity and gender ideology creates a primary responsibility of women for household and child-rearing activities, which is still found in the disproportionate responsibilities among couples (Baker 2012; Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 402; Ridgeway 2011, pp. 127ff.).
Shared responsibility within couples is therefore not tantamount to equally shared responsibility. The gendered bias seems to go so far that “women are likely to overlook inequality in their marriage, or report equality where none exists” (Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 413). In the same vein as in the argument addressing women’s participation in the workforce, the conjunction of work-life balance agenda and post-feminism has understood women’s disproportionate responsibility for the majority of housework as a consequence of their personal (rational) choice (Baker 2012, pp. 342ff.). Gender ideology is still present in self-declared equal-responsibility partnerships.
Political ideology – including economic, marketing, and welfare systems that emanate from it (or do not emanate from it) – greatly influences the type(s) of shared responsibility individuals or couples might assume for themselves: What is named “social responsibility” by Eichler (1997) implies that agents accept a potential part played by “the public” for the care of dependents, which may stretch from the idea that government shall provide facilities for care taking (meaning that the government helps parents who possess full agency to execute their free will) to the acceptance that adequate child care or education cannot be provided by the parents. Note that political ideology might have affected the public opinion and shaped social practices differently in different countries. In Germany, for example, the MBI is compatible with the acceptance of public schooling – for example, universal standards for curricula and pedagogy – whereas public schooling – especially universal standards for curricula and pedagogy – has been greatly questioned in the US.
The MBM is the motivation and the source of the factorial survey, introduced by the American sociologist Peter Rossi (Jasso 2006; Rossi and Anderson 1982). The design and the application of the factorial survey or vignette study are described in the following section.
The Factorial Survey
Instrument Development, Data Collection and Descriptive Statistics
The factorial survey is a quasi-experimental method that allows researchers to study social and individual determinants of human judgments under concrete conditions, encompassing “positive” beliefs (how something is), normative judgments (how something ought to be), and individuals’ intentions to act (Wallander 2009).
Inputs for the development of the quasi-experimental design were drawn from the analysis and interpretation of the in-depth interviews and the MBM. Instead of answering item-based questions, respondents were asked to evaluate so-called “vignettes,” fictive descriptions of a multidimensional phenomenon (male breadwinning). The dependent variable was operationalized as the decision between domestic and paid labor (in other words the identification with the private or the public sphere). Vignette characteristics or dimensions represented the independent variables that were expected to influence respondents’ judgments. By systematically varying these dimensions, it was possible to isolate the weight of different, overarching ideas and to determine their influence on the vignette evaluations. As remarked by Wallander (2009) the multidimensional vignette descriptions correspond to everyday situations where individuals judge, evaluate or decide on different kinds of information.
Traditionally empirical studies on gender ideology have been concerned with a one-dimensional construct, often expecting attitudes to vary along the dimension “conservative” to “liberal” (Shelton and John 1996). Using multifaceted vignettes allows us to vary more than one independent variable and to depict more holistic situations to investigate overarching ideas. As already argued by Kroska (2000), the “doing gender paradigm” relates to situational norms and routines that constrain and shape human behavior. Against this backdrop, the factorial survey, which captures such contextual factors and interactional dynamics, provides an appropriate approach to investigate how family dynamics (re-) produce gender.
The operationalization of the independent variables, types of beliefs or practical ideas that constitute male breadwinning, is shown in Table 3. Compared with Figure 2, our operationalization does not explicitly refer to all ideas included in Figure 2. As argued above, some ideas are shared among ideologies. For example, economic and political ideology share number 5, 6, 7, and 8; and political ideology and the ideology of domesticity share number 9. In case of economic ideology we emphasize the distinction between market and non-market affairs (number 5) that affects our operationalization in form of personal fulfillment on one hand, and income benefits for the family on the other (cf. Becker 1976; Coase 1960; Commons 1931). Personal fulfillment is particularly indicative of the ability of people to live a life that they value, or that they are able to conduct activities, which generate benefits, outcomes, or utility for themselves and/or the others for whom they care. The values behind personal fulfillment can differ for men and women, and they need not be restricted to materialistic gains. A gendered view on personal fulfillment might “see” fulfillment as acting out the mother role or in women’s devotion to family, but also in the male’s responsibility for the provision of family income. This can be related to the opportunity or willingness to be (become) a market actor or to provide the “organization of the home” (Ridgeway 2011, p. 127).
Operationalization of Independent Variables.
Gender ideology finds expression in the gender bias in an individual’s readiness to engage in market or non-market relationships, to find self-fulfillment or to add to the family income (dotted arrows in Figure 2). The concept represents an individual’s level of support for gendered separate spheres, relating to ideas, such as some work is suitable for women and some work is suitable for men, women are or are not happier if they stay at home and take care of the children (the “feminine self”), or a full-time working mother can or cannot establish a warm and secure relationship with her children. To test the influence of gender ideology on the decision to participate in market relationships, the perspective of the father and the perspective of the mother are varied as independent variables in the vignette scenarios. The distinction between father and mother is included as a “marker” for the effects of gender ideology, shared ideas that for everyone concerned it is much better if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and the family.
Another dimension included in the vignettes refers to an individual’s acceptance of governmental interference with family matters (Figure 2, numbers 4, 5, and 9). As indicated by the data of the qualitative study, interviewees opted for more governmental support regarding childcare in forms of financial transfers and infrastructure investments, while still valuing freedom of governmental control and autonomy as related to family decision-making. Based on this empirical finding we infer that childcare service offerings affect the decision to participate in market relationships. In Germany, childcare services are traditionally offered by public institutions, which cooperate with organizations such as the Caritas, the Diakonie, or other booster clubs. In the vignettes these public services are compared to private market offerings (e.g., nannies).
Against the backdrop of the “idea of a male-breadwinner model family” (Lewis 2003, p. 82), the dimension marital status is included to see if family ideology, associated with the idea of an ideal family, influences the decision between domestic and paid labor (Figure 2, number 2). Underlying the German welfare system, substitutive policies like tax incentives are geared to support the (heterosexual) married family as the basis to provide the best possible care. It is assumed that married partners are more likely to feel secure and to accept being financially dependent on the other partner (Figure 2, limited or negated agency, i.e., non 8), leading to an increased inclination to accept parental leave.
Ideologies play a part in the interpretation of personal experience and thus exert influence on the understanding or classification of practices as well as the way individuals value and perform certain practices. As already seen in the interpretation of the results of the qualitative study, the finding that a person shows a specific behavior does not imply that such behavior is consistent with a particular (set of) ideology (ideologies) that “back(s) up” the practice. A particular activity can be enforced by an ideology that does not harmonize with the agents’ preferences. Women, for example, might prefer the let-make option – in other words, demand care-related service, but shy away from realizing this preference because of a “bad conscience” – or cannot realize their preferences because of the emotional costs related to social ostracism. As a last dimension, the expectation of family members and acquaintances is included to see if received ideas in form of group ideology affect the decision between the domestic and the market sphere.
All independent variables are constructed as dichotomous variables. Table 3 provides an overview on the operationalization of the ideologies of relevance in our study with respect to simple, core ideas that are linked to these ideologies.
Between January and September 2013, 80 parents, 57 females and 23 males, were approached in three public kindergartens in the area of Erlangen and one kindergarten in Nuremberg (Bavaria, Germany). Paper-and-pencil questionnaires were used to present the vignettes. The sample statistics are summarized in Table 4. The vast majority (93.75%) of parents we interviewed are married or in a relationship. More than 91% of the parents have at least one child younger than seven years. During the last ten years, only two respondents had lived in rural areas, the others in urban settings. Almost two-thirds of the parents (66.25%) have a university degree. Except for two respondents, all have at least a secondary school certificate. We relate this selection artifact to the socio-economic context of the region. In 2010 the city of Erlangen had the highest proportion of qualified employees, the highest density of engineers, and the lowest number of indebted people of all German cities. Among the employers are the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, numerous branches of Siemens AG, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and the research institute of the Fraunhofer Society (WirtschaftsWoche 2010). We generally observed that staff in kindergartens we approached tended to be supportive of scientific research and parents were not reluctant to openly discuss and to reflect on standard gender norms.
Descriptive Statistics: Sample Characteristics.
The results of the factorial survey describe the selected sample, but the set of respondents does not represent a random selection of a targeted population chosen entirely by chance. For the purpose of the study a convenience sampling technique is applicable as we are aiming to estimate the effects of the dimensions that are experimentally varied. Our intent here is to apply and improve the model and to add to a theoretical framework for the study of the impact of ideologies on marketing systems. Further studies are encouraged to investigate whether the results are inferential and generalizable to a broader, heterogeneous population.
An example for a vignette is given in Figure 3. Each scenario consists of six dimensions at two levels, which leads to a universe of 26 = 64 vignettes. The equal number of two levels each reduces the size of the experimental design and allows us to avoid creating dimensions with higher levels that might exert disproportional influence. Since all combinations offer a realistic description, no scenario had to be excluded. In order to obtain multiple ratings of each vignette while avoiding respondent fatigue, vignette samples (so-called “decks”) were drawn from the complete universe. Vignettes were randomly assigned to one of eight decks (sampling without replacement), so that each respondent had to rate a total number of eight vignettes, followed by short questions on respondent-specific, individual characteristics, basically in reference to partnership and the current household situation.
Example of a Vignette.
We expected all parents to be familiar with the scenarios described, which is – in terms of external validity – a necessary precondition given the hypothetical nature of vignettes and judgment of intentional action. Even if methodological studies on external validity could show that under certain circumstances hypothetical judgments on vignettes correspond with actual behavior (Louviere, Hensher, and Swait 2000; Nisic and Auspurg 2009), we argue that the judgments should be “within the competence of the target population” (Wagenaar et al. 2001, p. 347).
Data Analysis and Results
As the summary of means in Table 5 indicates, respondents show a general tendency towards participating in the labor market after parental leave (5.13). Within the sample, female respondents show a slightly higher tendency (mean 5.22) to consider labor market participation than male respondents (mean 4.90). To test the proposition that labor market participation is based on gender, economic, political, family, and shared ideology (operationalized as vignette dimensions) we applied a logistic regression analysis.
Descriptive Statistics: Summary of Means.
A logistic model predicts the natural logarithm of odds of Y (the dependent variable) from Xj (the independent variables). Odds are ratios of probabilities (π) of Y happening (participating in the labor market) to probabilities (1–π) of Y not happening (not participating in the labor market) (Peng, Lee, and Ingersoll 2002). Given all other predictors are kept constant, the odds ratio indicates the change in the odds of Y (labor market participation) given a unit change in Xj (i.e. a unit increase in household income). Odds ratios higher than one (>1) point towards a positive, odds ratios lower than one (<1) towards a negative relationship. For the estimation, the dependent variable is treated as dichotomous: 0 (1-4) = not participating in the labor market, 1 (5-8) = participating in the labor market.
To consider the ordinal scale of the dependent variable, a logit regression was additionally applied, reporting both beta coefficients and marginal effects. These estimations revealed similar associations between the judgment of labor market participation and the set of vignette variables.
Due to the multi-level structure of the data – with each respondent rating more than one vignette – the observations are not independent from each other. This data-structure of clustered observations is considered by the estimation of robust standard errors (Huber-White-Correcting).
The results of the regression analysis are shown in Table 6. Regarding the influence of gender ideology, the odds ratios indicate that the chances of a female mother entering the labor market are only about 67% of the odds of a male father to participate in the labor market. The odds ratios are even lower regarding the group of female respondents (0.55). These findings support the assumption that gender ideology influences parents’ judgment to engage in market relationships. Furthermore, evidence suggests that economic ideology along with gender ideology affects the vignette judgment of respondents. The odds ratios indicate that the chances to consider labor market participation after parental leave are 5.64 times higher assuming that the position offered is highly valued by respondents. The judgment of male respondents (7.75) – as compared to female respondents (5.04) – is more likely to be affected by job market offerings. In contrast, the chances of female mothers to decide on participating in the labor market are more likely to be affected by high income (2.13). For all respondents, the odds to consider entering the labor market are 1.81 times higher given an increase of financial income.
Logistic Regression Analysis (Robust Standard Errors) Vignette Dimensions Influencing Labor Market Participation.
The data structure of clustered observations is considered by the estimation of robust standard errors (Huber-White-Correcting). The dependent variable is treated as dichotomous (0 = decision not to participate in the labor market, 1 = decision to participate in the labor market).
Significance levels: p < .05*, p < .01**, p < .001***
To conclude, the results of the logistic regression indicate that economic ideology and concepts of gender simultaneously interfere with respondent’s judgment to engage in labor market relations. Regarding the organization of the family, female and male respondents show support for gendered separate spheres and differences in the valuation of market and non-market incentives, using the example of personal fulfillment and income provided for the family. At the same time, ideas related to political and family ideology are expected to intertwine with economic and gender ideology. Including these variables shows a significant fit to the data, the set of vignette dimensions explaining the variability in the dependent variable (significance of the chi-square statistic less than 0.000). Independently, these variables show marginal effects, which is why they are not further discussed.
To control for individual characteristics a random intercept model (Abraham, Hinz, and Auspurg 2010; Raudenbush and Bryk 2001; Snijders and Bosker 1999) – where a subject-specific intercept represents the combined effects of personal characteristics on the vignette judgments – was additionally applied. In this case, the individual-specific component is constructed as a random variable (instead of a parameter to be estimated) and becomes part of the error term, which represents the unexplained heterogeneity between respondents (Rabe-Hesketh and Skrondal 2008, p. 91). Since the sample of parents is relatively homogenous vis-à-vis demographics and socio-economic background (see the descriptive results above), the individual characteristics failed to reach statistical significance. Nearly the same effects as indicated by the logistic regression analysis were produced by the application of the random intercept model.
Discussion, Design Options and Implications for Future Research
Discussion
According to the model developed in this article, male breadwinning is a consequence of overlapping and shared ideologies with gender ideology at its core, with implications for individuals, families, and the broader political economy and marketing systems. With respect to the relation of gender ideology and the MBI, the mother mythos is its “pure” core; it does not overlap with any other of the ideologies represented in Figure 2. The ideology of domesticity (linked with political ideology and economic ideology) and family ideology are in the background of the other two constituents of MBI, namely that the male should be the primary provider of the family and that the female is primarily responsible for household duties. The ethical concept of responsibility links the ideologies listed above.
That ideologies can overlap or interact is a precondition for the impact of gender ideology on the other ideologies discussed in this article. Interactions of ideologies take place via the partly conscious, partly unconscious “intermediary” activity of the human mind. Gender ideology and the way it overlaps/interacts with other ideologies is of interest for the explanation of market phenomena, such as the labor supply of men and women, or the offering of particular services, and ultimately has possible implications for entire marketing systems in the form of resource allocations and the fundamental macromarketing outcome, societal well-being. Ideologies and values characterize marketing systems and influence the provision of resources to value-creation processes and the market offerings that might be accepted. Ideologies are not necessarily consistent, and the ideas and values that constitute them might clash. Individuals have to rank values and base decisions on these rankings. They do this as one party or a couple. This again points to the active part played by individuals in the process of “doing gender” (Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 401) or in the way individuals create action options or make use of them – a process that subsequently can change “practical ideas.”
The actual behavior of individuals is also influenced by the way ideas are enforced or sanctioned by the social environment, by the negotiations taking place within couples, families and other forms of social collectivities, as well as the alternatives or options collectivities or organizations provide or support. That ideologies are shared among groups, and that the group members are aware of this, affects their decisions. For this reason we introduced a variable in our vignette study that controls for the impact of group ideology.
The design of marketing systems and the potential that they can unfold to the benefit of market actors, communities, or societies depend on knowledge about, or the understanding of, the interaction of macro-level structures and micro processes. This creates an opportunity for public policy to improve the potential of economies, and for organizations to gain or improve their access to and benefits from human work force. The results of our factorial survey show that, for instance, ideas furthering the participation in market relationships intertwine with ideas promoting the existence of gendered separations of spheres. In a similar vein, male interviewees of the qualitative study expressed the view that men should be the main provider of the family, which is indicative of conflicts between ideas such as equal participation in the labor market and personal autonomy. The model we developed constitutes a framework for further investigating the overlap of ideologies, ideas that comply with or ideas that contradict the MBI. With respect to economic ideology, both personal fulfillment and financial resources gained through labor market participation have influenced respondents’ judgments. Studies need to delve further into the gendered views on personal fulfillment and value creation (Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 404).
New or additional personal experiences may lead to a change or modification of individual belief systems, the way individuals engage in social communication, and subsequently may lead to a modification of patterns of behavior and ideologies even at the macro level. The ideas that constitute ideologies can be re-organized in the course of a social change process and the particular outcome of such “re-organizations” can pave the way for further change but also for reaction (Hirschman 1991). An example for that is the appearance of “new traditionalists” in the “to work” or “not work” debate (Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 404).
Our theoretical analysis assumes that the ideas and values related to particular ideologies can conflict and need to be selected or ranked in case of shared ideologies. Which ideology takes precedence in the decision-making process, which idea or value may “crowd out” others, can depend on particular attributes of alternative options. If public or private organizations are involved in the provision of services vis-à-vis organization of the home – and are complementary to the organization of paid work – the quality of the offerings might play a crucial role in their acceptance and thus their potential to affirmative practical experiences. The “quality” of service incidentally varies depending upon that which is most valued – the service impact on the common good and/or the well-being of a particular family and its individual members.
Paternalism should be avoided if the human and social rights of dependents are in danger to be supplanted or are actually supplanted in the conflict between personal autonomy and legal paternalism. However, a customer’s transactional relationship with a public provider of child-care services does not interfere with his or her personal autonomy. Thus, we don’t interpret the slight deviance against public offerings that our data show as a vote against legal paternalism but rather assume that it reflects the subjectively experienced quality of specific offerings. This aspect should also be made a subject of further investigation.
Design Options in the Light of Ideas and Values
Public policy makes “design offers” with regard to the contributions of citizens (taxes, fees), rules (institutions), and the part it promises to play (as a player and/or ruler). In a democratic political system, citizens make their decisions concerning the design of marketing systems in a double way. They decide via elections in the political sector and they vote via their choices in the economic sector. Liberalist views assume that social entities such as marketing systems shall be designed or governed in accordance with the preferences of individuals. In Germany, 32% of mothers wish to get (more) support from domestic aid or their partners (Allensbach Institute 2012). Personal autonomy undergirds the view that actors should have a choice between either make or let make on the one hand, and make and let make, on the other. With respect to raising children, the make option means that care is provided within the family. The MBI narrows this down to the single task of the mother or a female household member. The let-make option means that the parents demand professional support for child-caring activities. This support can be publicly or privately provided. The last option, make and let make, expresses that make and let make are basically non-exclusive, that is, parents may demand only part-time childcare.
Values such as equality and justice demand that women (and men) ought to have a choice based on private or public provision of a service (Lewis 2003, p. 104; Murry, Mayberry, and Berkel 2012, p. 404). The above-mentioned options can only be chosen if the required infrastructure (the marketing system including public and private suppliers) is available, and if the service quality is adequate in all ways of provision. No general answer can be given to the question of whether a particular service shall be offered by the government (or its subcontractors) or the private sector. As in the case of the German Caritas or Diakonie, if the agents of the government subcontract with private suppliers, the distinction between public and private supply of a service can begin to blur. Therefore, although it might turn out to be important that the option for the agents is transactional, that is, not coined by legal paternalism, ceteris paribus it might be less important if the other party to the market transaction is a governmental agent.
The way private and public companies organize labor has a profound impact on the ability of its employees to realize their preferences and organize their family life. Organizational governance structures might create preconditions, which allow or disallow both parents to practice equally shared responsibility. New models of the division of labor, addressing the balance of time allocated by family members or couples to work-life and family-life, point this direction. One idea is that families or couples with young children should be given the opportunity to work less in this phase of their life and to work more in later stages when their children have grown up. It can be assumed that the decision negotiated by individuals, or made by the couple, reflects the particular interplay of individual preferences and the pre-existing social structure and culture – an aspect addressed in our vignette study. A central result of the Allensbach Institute (2012) study is that 50% of males prefer to work less, and 37% of males opt for more flexible time schedules at work. The idea behind the Elterngeld Plus to enhance the decision options for parents or to allow both men and women to work part-time and thus to make a step toward equally shared responsibility requires employers who adapt the organization of work and increase its flexibility. A change in the organization of labor allowing more flexible working hours can initiate or make possible modified practices not only within organizations but also in families (including social communications), which might lead to a change of the personal experiences.
Implications for Further Research
The MBM has been developed as an instrument to improve the theoretical understanding of male breadwinning. It is a source for the generation of hypotheses and of possibly causal scenarios that can be tested numerous ways via various methods of empirical research and data analysis.
As a first result, the factorial survey has shown that the study of subjective dimensions of the phenomenon and an individuals’ connection of different (consistent or contradictory) values, ideas and assumptions can be successfully conducted. In general, the model can be improved or refined with respect to the way ideologies have found their expression in the variables (dimensions). Future research could look at the impact of further ideologies such as religious ideology.
Since the results of the factorial survey are descriptive for the chosen sample, we encourage researchers to gain further insights by more representative empirical study. Indeed, larger and more heterogeneous samples would result in better understanding of male breadwinning in Germany and potentially in other countries and regions as well. Comparative international, cross-cultural and/or policy analyses could be particularly interesting and expedient to affect policies and practices as breadwinning roles and tasks evolve to meet the needs of families and societies.
A model has been interpreted as a particular causal scenario and one might think about alternative scenarios that include impact factors that could have caused the phenomenon (or could have contributed to its appearance) as well. Thus, as argued by Ylikoski and Aydinonat (2014), it is highly plausible that there is not only one MBM, but a family of closely connected models that can explain male breadwinner phenomena vis-à-vis the diversity of concrete historical and cultural specifics of MBI.
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
We thank Adrian Wille, at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, for his research assistance. We thank editor Terrence Witkowski, Associate Editor William Redmond, the three anonymous reviewers, and participants at the 38th Annual Macromarketing Conference for many helpful comments on earlier drafts, which inspired improvements in our manuscript.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.