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Working Wives and Time-Saving Durables: Usage Patterns for the Microwave Oven

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Abstract

Working wives face increasing demands on their time due to the pressures of employment as well as household needs. Accordingly, they are expected to adopt strategies which save time, such as the purchase of durables like dishwashers and microwave ovens. Previous research, however, has not demonstrated this association. This paper proposes that the actual usage of the durable, rather than its ownership, is more likely to vary with working wife status. When the case of microwave ovens is considered, a survey of households in southern New Jersey indicates that usage similarly does not vary with wife’s participation in the labor force.

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© 2015 Academy of Marketing Science

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Kaufman, C.J. (2015). Working Wives and Time-Saving Durables: Usage Patterns for the Microwave Oven. In: Hawes, J.M., Glisan, G.B. (eds) Proceedings of the 1987 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17052-7_14

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