To successfully market their products, industrial vendors must determine who participates in an organizational purchase decision and what their influence is. Previous research has shown that participation and influence can vary across products and purchase situations. Though industrial marketing researchers would agree that there are different types of purchase situations, they would disagree on a taxonomy for describing them. The author uses past research as a point of departure and proposes a structural equations model that suggests the purchase situation attributes of novelty, complexity, and importance are causal determinants of participation and influence in an industrial purchase decision. The results indicate that these constructs, especially novelty and importance, provide a plausible typology for describing participation and influence in industrial purchase situations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonErin, ChuWujin, and WeitzBarton (1987), “Industrial Purchasing: An Empirical Exploration of the Buy-class Framework,”Journal of Marketing, 51 (July), 71–86.
2.
AndersonPaul F. (1982), “Marketing, Strategic Planning and the Theory of the Firm,”Journal of Marketing, 46 (Spring), 15–26.
3.
AndersonPaul F., and ChambersTerry (1985), “A Reward/Measurement Model of Organizational Buying Behavior,”Journal of Marketing, 49 (Spring), 7–23.
4.
BagozziRichard P., and PhillipsLynn W. (1982), “Representing and Testing Organizational Theories: A Holistic Construal,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 27 (March), 459–89.
5.
BellizziJoseph, and McVeyPhillip (1983), “How Valid is the Buygrid Model?”Industrial Marketing Management, 12 (February), 57–62.
6.
BentlerPeter M., and BonettDouglas G. (1980), “Significance Tests and Goodness of Fit in the Analysis of Co-variance Structures,”Psychological Bulletin, 88 (November), 588–606.
7.
BonomaThomas, BagozziRichard, and ZaltmanGerald (1978), “The Dyadic Paradigm with Specific Applications Toward Industrial Marketing,” in Organizational Buying Behavior, BonomaThomas, and ZaltmanGerald, eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 49–66.
8.
BonomaThomas, ZaltmanGerald, and JohnstonWesley (1977), Industrial Buying Behavior.Boston: The Marketing Science Institute.
9.
BrassDaniel (1984), “Being in the Right Place: A Structural Analysis of Individual Influence in an Organization,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 29 (March), 518–39.
10.
BurnkrantRobert E., and CousineauAlain (1975), “Informational and Normative Social Influence in Buyer Behavior,”Journal of Consumer Research, 2 (December), 206–15.
11.
CalderBobby J. (1977), “Structural Role Analysis of Organizational Buying: A Preliminary Investigation,” in Consumer and Industrial Buying Behavior, WoodsideA., ShethJ., and BennettP., eds. New York: Elsevier-North Holland Publishing Company, 193–200.
12.
CalderBobby J., PhillipsLynn W., and TyboutAlice M. (1981), “Designing Research for Application,”Journal of Consumer Research, 8 (September), 197–207.
13.
CartwrightDorwin (1965), “Influence, Leadership, and Control,” in Handbook of Organizations, MarchJames, ed. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1–47.
14.
CohenJoel G., and GoldenEllen (1972), “Informational Social Influence and Product Evaluation,”Journal of Applied Psychology, 56 (February), 54–9.
15.
CooleyJames R., JacksonDonald W., and OstrumLonnie R. (1977), “Analyzing the Relative Power of Participants in Industrial Buying Decisions,” in Contemporary Marketing Thought, GreenbergBarnett A., and BellengerDanny N., eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 243–6.
16.
CyertRichard, and MarchJames (1963), A Behavioral Theory of the Firm.Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
17.
CyertRichard, SimonHerbert, and TrowDonald (1956), “Observation of a Business Decision,”Journal of Business, 29 (October), 237–48.
18.
DahlRobert (1968), “Power,” in International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.New York: The Free Press.
19.
DeBruickerF. Stewart, and SummeGregory L. (1985), “Make Sure Your Customers Keep Coming Back,”Harvard Business Review, 63 (January-February), 92–8.
20.
DoylePeter, WoodsideArch G., and MitchellPaul (1979), “Organizations Buying in New Task and Rebuy Situations,”Industrial Marketing Management, 8 (January), 7–11.
21.
EngelJames, BlackwellRoger, and MiniardPaul (1986), Consumer Behavior.New York: Dryden Press.
22.
FerenceThomas (1970), “Organizational Communications Systems and the Decision Process,”Management Science, 17 (October), 83–96.
23.
FergusonWade (1979), “An Evaluation of the Buygrid Framework,”Industrial Marketing Management, 8 (January), 40–4.
24.
FisherLawrence (1976), Industrial Marketing: An Analytical Approach to Planning and Execution.London: Business Books Limited.
25.
FrederickJohn H. (1934), Industrial Marketing.New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
26.
GrashofJohn R. (1979), “Sharing the Purchasing Decision,”Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, 15 (Summer), 26–32.
27.
GrashofJohn R., and ThomasGloria (1976), “Industrial Buying Center Responsibilities: Self Versus Other Member Evaluations of Importance,” in American Marketing Association Proceedings.Chicago: American Marketing Association, 344–7.
GrønhaugKjell (1975b), “Autonomous vs. Joint Decisions in Organizational Buying,”Industrial Marketing Management, 4 (October), 265–71.
30.
HanssensDominique, and WeitzBarton (1980), “The Effectiveness of Industrial Print Advertisements Across Product Categories,”Journal of Marketing Research, 17 (August), 294–306.
31.
IsenbergDaniel J. (1981), “The Effects of Time Pressure on Group Processes and Structure,”Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 27 (1), 119–33.
32.
JacksonBarbara Bund (1985), Winning and Keeping Industrial Customers: The Dynamics of Customer Relationships.Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
33.
JacksonDonald W., KeithJanet E., and BurdickRichard K. (1984), “Purchasing Agents' Perceptions of Industrial Buying Center Influence: A Situational Approach,”Journal of Marketing, 48 (Fall), 75–85.
34.
JohnstonWesley J. (1979), “Communications Networks and Influence Patterns in Industrial Buying Behavior,” PhD dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
35.
JohnstonWesley J. (1981), “Industrial Buying Behavior: A State-of-the-Art Review,” in Review of Marketing 1981, EnisBen M., and RoeringKenneth J., eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 75–88.
36.
JohnstonWesley J., and BonomaThomas (1981), “The Buying Center: Structure and Interaction Patterns,”Journal of Marketing, 45 (Summer), 143–56.
37.
JöreskogKarl, and SörbomDag (1982), “Recent Developments in Structural Equation Modeling,”Journal of Marketing Research, 19 (November) 404–16.
38.
JöreskogKarl, and SörbomDag (1984), LISREL VI: Analysis of Linear Structural Relationships by the Method of Maximum Likelihood.Chicago: National Educational Services.
39.
KirschWalter, and KutschkerMichael (1982), “Marketing and Buying Decisions in Industrial Markets,” in Studies in Decision Making, IrleMartin, ed. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 443–88.
40.
LilienGary, and Anthony WongM. (1984), “An Exploratory Investigation of the Structure of the Buying Center in the Metalworking Industry,”Journal of Marketing Research, 21 (February), 1–11.
41.
MayerWolfgang U. (1983), “Situational Variables and Industrial Buying,”Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, 19 (Winter), 21–25.
NaumannEarl, LincolnDouglas, and McWilliamsRobert D (1984), “The Purchase of Components: Functional Areas of Influence,”Industrial Marketing Management, 13 (May), 113–22.
44.
O'ReillyCharles (1983), “The Use of Information in Organizational Decision Making: A Model and Some Propositions,” in Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 5, CummingsL. L., and StawBarry M., eds. New York: JAI Press.
45.
PatchenMartin (1974), “The Locus and Basis of Influence on Industrial Purchase Decisions,”Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 11 (April), 195–221.
46.
PingryJack (1974), “The Engineer and Purchasing Agent Compared,”Journal of Purchasing, 10 (November), 33–45.
47.
PughD. S., HicksonD., and TurnerC. (1968), “Dimensions of Organization Structure,”Administrative Science Quarterly, 13 (June), 65–105.
48.
ReveTorger, and JohansenEgil (1982), “Organizational Buying in the Offshore Oil Industry,”Industrial Marketing Management, 11 (October), 275–82.
49.
RobinsonPatrick, FarisCharles, and WindYoram (1967), Industrial Buying and Creative Marketing.Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
50.
SalancikGerald, and PfefferJeffrey (1977), “Who Gets Power—and How They Hold on to It: A Strategic-Contingency Model of Power,”Organizational Dynamics, 16 (Winter), 3–21.
51.
ShethJagdish (1973), “A Model of Industrial Buyer Behavior,”Journal of Marketing, 37 (Spring), 50–6.
52.
SilkAlvin, and KalwaniManohar (1982), “Measuring Influence in Organizational Purchase Decisions,”Journal of Marketing Research, 19 (May), 165–81.
53.
SpekmanRobert, and SternLouis (1979), “Environmental Uncertainty and Buying Group Structure: An Empirical Investigation,”Journal of Marketing, 43 (Spring), 54–64.
54.
StogdillR. M. (1974), Handbook of Leadership.New York: The Free Press.
55.
SujanHarish (1986), “Smarter Versus Harder: An Exploratory Attributional Analysis of Salespeople's Motivation,”Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (February), 41–9.
56.
SweeneyTimothy W., MathewsH. L., and WilsonDavid (1973), “An Analysis of Industrial Buyers' Risk Reducing Behavior: Some Personality Correlates,”Proceedings of the American Marketing Association.Chicago: American Marketing Association, 217–21.
57.
TedeschiJames T., SchlenkerBarry R., and LindskoldSvenn (1972), “The Exercise of Power and Influence,” in The Social Influence Processes, TedeschiJames, ed. Chicago: Aldine-Atherton, 346–418.
58.
ThomasRobert (1984), “Bases of Power in Organizational Buying Decisions,”Industrial Marketing Management, 13 (October), 209–17.
59.
WebsterFredrick, and WindYoram (1972), “A General Model for Understanding Organizational Buying Behavior,”Journal of Marketing, 36 (Spring), 12–19.
60.
ZaltmanGerald, and BonomaThomas (1977), “Organizational Buying Behavior: Hypotheses and Directions,”Industrial Marketing Management, 6 (January), 53–60.
