Organizational buying behaviour in Business tourism market

The purpose of this Bachelor’s thesis was to provide understanding of the organizational buying behavior in Russian companies in context of business tourism market. This included describing the general model of the process, identifying people, responsible for decision making and analyzing factors, that influence their decisions. Another objective was to give recommendations to the case company about how to reach right people in Russian organizations with their message. In the theoretical part of the study the main issues were related to the general principles of organizational buying behavior and main concepts of the topic. When conducting this research both Russian and English sources were used. The most related topics of the literature were «Organizational Buying behavior», «Business –to-business marketing» and «Industrial marketing», presented by Philip Kotler, Frederick E. Webster Jr. and Yoram Wind and Kovalev A.I Empirical part was based on a case study and described the organizational buying process on example of 3 Russian companies, that were chosen according to the criteria of location, size and industry. The data for case study was gathered by conducting an interview with members of buying centers within this companies. Implementation of theory to the practice faced with some difficulties such as misunderstanding of the topic and unwillingness of companies to provide full information. However, all obstacles have been overcome. As a result of the study, general model of organizational buying process was described in context of business tourism, members of buying center were identified and main factors, affecting their decisions were analyzed. According to this outcome, recommendations about what could be done to facilitate the interaction with Russian corporate clients, were given. This research also provided a good platform for further studies on this subject

Government Policy Requirements and Personal Considerations as Determinants of Organizational Buying Behaviour

This study examined the impact of government policies and personal consideration factors as determinants of organizational buying behaviour in a developing economy. Using survey data from 321 respondents in the three categories of organizational consumers based in the southern senatorial district of Cross River State, the study shows that although government policy requirements and personal interest factors directly influence organizational buying behaviour, later emerged as having the stronger influence. Our finding also suggest that producers and suppliers of industrial products would derive greater patronage and benefit in exploring and sustaining personal relationships with members of buying centres, besides considering government policy requirements on purchasing. Keywords: Government policy requirements, personal interest factors and organizational behaviour

Report on Expert Interviews

This short report represents a summary of the analysis conducted so far on the GfK Panel Data. The focus was on the main three types of raw meat: chicken, pork, beef, as well as three categories of processed food products: liver paste, cold cuts and sausages. The aim was to look at the market indicators for each one of the six sub-categories, out of which market share and penetration were considered to be the most important. Besides these two indicators, I also included some extra calculations for each category, which can be analysed further and more in-depth if needed. One of the desired outcomes of the analyses was to identify companies and brands that were successful in each sub-category. Unfortunately, due to the generally low market shares of the organic products, the number of options was limited. Beef and pork were two categories where no brands were registered in the original product and sales Files. In the chicken category there was only one brand registered between 2006 and 2010, however, the market shares were extremely low for this category. There were only one or two households buying organic chicken products. The processed meat sub-categories both had a few companies registered. However, the diversity isn’t large. Still, it is good to notice that in the three sub-categories there were two companies that were most present: Farre Food and Hanegal. Market shares were generally low for all six sub-categories. Organic beef, pork and liver paste were the only categories to reach market shares of over 1%, while organic chicken had the lowest market shares of all. The trends were generally fluctuating over time. The highest market shares for liver paste, pork, chicken and beef were registered in 2007. All these four categories had much lower market shares in 2009, but it is interesting to notice that in the same year, organic cold cuts and sausages registered the highest market shares. Except for chicken, all market shares dropped in 2010 compared to 2009. Penetration levels had a clear descending trend for organic beef and liver paste, whereas for the other subcategories the levels fluctuated. Organic chicken and sausage generally had an ascending trend, while organic pork and cold cuts usually had descending trends in penetration levels. The highest penetration rates were registered in 2006 for liver paste, beef and cold cuts and in 2008 for sausages, chicken and pork. Out of all the six sub-categories that were analysed, organic beef has had the highest market shares and highest penetration rates, even though the figures were lower and lower every year. Regarding the average price paid/100 gr of meat products, we notice that in the organic category there is more fluctuation than in the conventional category, meaning that the price of organic products varies more between years. According to the analysis, the price difference between the organic and the conventional options in a sub-category is clearly notices in the processed meat category, but it is not as well defined for chicken, pork and beef. There are some limitations regarding the analysis of the panel data. On the one hand, these are due to the fact that there are some incompatibilities between the product file and the sales file regarding the identification of products as being organic or not. On the other hand, some of the products were registered as “unknown”, meaning that they are neither analysed as being organic, nor as being conventional, but as being a separate category. It is considered however that due to the fact that the results of the analysis are so small, the correction of these errors would not change the numbers significantly

How does past and present customer experience explain the satisfaction with the supplier? A fuzzy set qualitative comparative approach

This study applies complexity theory to understand the effect of past and present experience on satisfaction. Drawing from the appraisal of interaction theory, social exchange theory and organizational buying behaviour, we developed and empirically measured customer experience on satisfaction across the customers of the professional service providers in b2b. This study investigates the past and current experiences as key elements of customer satisfaction with suppliers. To examine the research propositions, this study employs confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), using a sample of 450 in the first wave and 260 in the second wave. The findings contribute to advancing the current knowledge of the literature by verifying different components of the construct of customer experience and its relative impact on satisfaction

Buyer-Supplier Relationship in the Adoption of e-Purchasing in the Small and Medium Printing Industries in Singapore: An Empirical Test Using Structural Equation Modelling

This research aims to explore how buyer-supplier relationship impacts the intention to adopt electronic purchasing (e-purchasing) by the printing industry in Singapore. The study utilizes the key concepts of organizational buying behaviour in terms of buyersupplier relationship. A research model combining the theory of buyer-seller relationship and organizational culture with aspects of Innovation Diffusion Theory is developed. The model is tested by collecting data from the samples of executives from the printing industry (SMEs) in Singapore. The responses are analyzed by Partial Least Square (PLS) based Structural Equation Modelling approach. It is observed that buyer-supplier relationship strongly influences individual factor and organizational factor. However, organizational factor in turn does not significantly influence the intention to adopt epurchasing. The only factor which significantly influences e-purchasing is perceived characteristics of e-purchasing. The implications of the results are highlighted. The results of this study will contribute to the existing theory and to the prospective adopters of e-purchasing in the printing industry in Singapore

The role of reference marketing in capital buying decisions: evidence from the Portugueses electric power industry.

Doutoramento em GestãoIn marketing reference processes, existing customers act as advocates for firms. With their enthusiasm, they provide testimonials, receive visits from potential customers, and contribute information on adopted solutions and their performance. This activity is highly valuable for firms insofar as it helps them to acquire strategic assets that allow for profitable marketing action, either by increasing credibility and reputation or by reducing the perceived risks associated with the purchasing of services or products from a particular supplier. In this study, I suggest that the literature on organizational buying behaviour lacks the empirical input necessary for a theory of customer referencing. In particular, I argue that studies of customer referencing practice do not give sufficient attention to the potential customer’s point of view. Instead, empirical research has favoured the supplier as its unit of analysis and has ignored the other two constituents of the reference triad: the reference customer and the potential customer. Empirical work featuring the potential customer as its unit of observation is therefore a promising area of research for those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of customer referencing and its influence on the buying behaviour of industrial firms. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap by considering the following question: “How does reference marketing influence capital buying decisions?” I respond to this question by collecting data from firms in the Portuguese energy industry, with a view to creating a multiple case study. This empirical work, which adopts a critical realist approach, grounds a new theoretical model for describing the causal mechanism that connects reference marketing to its outcomes. By identifying this causal mechanism, I aim to deepen our understanding of the role played by customer referencing in capital equipment buying decisions. In addition, this research identifies a new form of reference practice and two new referencing effects not yet described in the literature on referencing.No marketing de referências, os clientes de uma empresa agem como seus embaixadores. Com o seu entusiasmo, fornecem depoimentos e testemunhos, recebem visitas de potenciais clientes e contribuem com informações sobre as características das soluções adoptadas e do seu desempenho. Esta actividade é muito valiosa para as empresas, pois ajuda-as a adquirir activos estratégicos que permitem uma acção de marketing rentável, quer através do aumento da credibilidade e reputação, como reduzindo os riscos associados à compra de produtos ou serviços de um fornecedor. Neste estudo sugiro que a literatura sobre o comportamento de compra organizacional tem falta do input empírico necessário para uma teoria de referenciação de clientes. Em particular, argumento que os estudos da prática da gestão de referenciação de clientes não dão a devida atenção ao ponto de vista que versa o potencial cliente. Em vez disso, a pesquisa empírica tem favorecido o fornecedor como a sua unidade de análise e ignorado os outros dois componentes da tríade: o cliente de referência e o potencial cliente. O trabalho empírico que contempla o potencial cliente como sua unidade de observação é, portanto, uma área de pesquisa promissora para aqueles que desejam obter uma compreensão mais profunda da referenciação de clientes e da sua influência sobre o comportamento de compra de empresas industriais. Este estudo pretende contribuir para o preenchimento desta lacuna, considerando a seguinte pergunta: "Como é que o marketing de referências de clientes influencia as decisões de compra de bens de capital?" Eu procuro responder a esta pergunta através da recolha de dados de empresas que estão presentes na indústria Portuguesa de energia, com vista à criação de um caso de estudo múltiplo. Este trabalho empírico, que adopta uma abordagem assente no realismo crítico, fundamenta um novo modelo teórico para descrever o mecanismo causal entre o marketing de referências de clientes e os seus resultados. A identificação deste mecanismo causal aprofunda a compreensão do papel desempenhado pela referenciação de clientes nas decisões de compra de bens de capital. Além disso, esta pesquisa identifica uma nova prática de referenciação de clientes e dois novos efeitos da referenciação de clientes que ainda não foram descritos na literatura sobre referenciação de clientes.N/

A relational insight of brand personification in business-to-business markets

Customers find it difficult to differentiate between competing products based on their functional aspects. The shortening life cycle of products due to quick adoption of technological innovations by competitors makes it difficult for them to identify products based on specifications. The contemporary academic literature related to relationship marketing and brand management is passionate about customer and consumer psychology but little attention has been given to the brand selection criteria of resellers as business customers of the brand. This paper combines branding and relationship marketing as two broad functions of marketing. The paper argues upon the role of human representatives of the brand as brand personified in managing these two functions of marketing in business-to-business markets. The proposal of the paper is to use human representatives as a tool for the execution of relationship marketing and branding strategies. The objective behind using human representatives is to maximize the mindshare of resellers towards the brand and create value for them beyond products and service

Learning difficulties: collaborative inter-organisational information system use within UK retail supply networks

Inter-organisational information systems (IOIS) have been introduced to support collaborative retail supply relationships, yet how these systems are used is not well understood. This paper presents analysis of an ideographic case study of a dynamic United Kingdom grocery sector supply network. Using Archer's (1995) social change theory we explore how changes to buyer-supplier relationship structures re-conditioned individual actors' situational logics in a way that created network learning difficulties. Our analysis shows how actors' inter-organisational information system use reinforced pre-existing bargaining positions and improved already powerful actors' relative negotiating strength. This paper demonstrates the value of multi-level analysis in furthering understanding of the complex relationships between processes of network and individual learning