A General Model for Understanding Organizational Buying Behavior

Author(s): Frederick E. Webster, Jr. and Yoram Wind

Source: Journal of Marketing, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Apr., 1972), pp. 12-19
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1250972
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 A General Model for
Understanding Organizational
Buying Behavior
FREDERICK E. WEBSTER, JR. NDUSTRIAL and institutional marketers have often
been urged to base their strategies on careful ap-
and
praisal of buying behavior within key accounts and in
YORAM WIND principal market segments. When they search the
available literature on buyer behavior, however, they
find virtually exclusive emphasis on consumers, not in-
dustrial buyers. Research findings and theoretical dis-
cussions about consumer behavior often have little rele-
vance for the industrial marketer. This is due to several
important differences between the two purchase pro-
cesses. Industrial buying takes place in the context of
The authors suggest a model of industrial a formal organization influenced by budget, cost, and
and institutional buying behavior profit considerations. Furthermore, organizational (i.e.,
as an organizational decision- industrial and institutional) buying usually involves
making process. The major dimensions many people in the decision process with complex inter-
of the model are defined and some actions among people and among individual and organi-
implications for marketing strategy zational goals.
Similar to his consumer goods counterpart, the indus-
are developed.
trial marketer could find a model of buyer behavior
useful in identifying those key factors influencing re-
sponse to marketing effort. A buyer behavior model
can help the marketer to analyze available information
about the market and to identify the need for additional
information. It can help to specify targets for market-
ing effort, the kinds of information needed by various
purchasing decision makers, and the criteria that they
will use to make these decisions. A framework for
analyzing organizational buying behavior could aid in
the design of marketing strategy.
The model to be presented here is a general model.
It can be applied to all organizational buying and suf-
fers all the weaknesses of general models. It does not
describe a specific buying situation in the richness of
detail required to make a model operational, and it
cannot be quantified. However, generality offers a
ABOUT THE AUTHORS. compensating set of benefits. The model presents a
Frederick E. Webster, Jr. is acting associate dean, comprehensive view of organizational buying that en-
director of the MBA program, and associate professor ables one to evaluate the relevance of specific variables
of business administration of the Amos Tuck School of
Business Administration, Dartmouth College, Hanover, and thereby permits greater insight into the basic pro-
New Hampshire. cesses of industrial buying behavior. It identifies the
Yoram Wind is associate professor of marketing at classes of variables that must be examined by any stu-
the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, Uni- dent of organizational buying, practitioner, or academi-
versity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
cian. Although major scientific progress in the study
of organizational buying will come only from a careful
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 36 (April, 1972), pp. 12-19. study of specific relationships among a few variables

12

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A General Model for Understanding Organizational Buying Behavior 13
within a given class, this general model can help to TABLE 1

identify those variables that should be studied. It can CLASSIFICATION AND EXAMPLES OF VARIABLES INFLUENCING
be useful in generating hypotheses and provides a ORGANIZATIONAL BUYING DECISIONS
framework for careful interpretation of research results
that makes the researcher more sensitive to the complexi- Task Nontask

ties of the processes he is studying.

Individual desire to obt
lowest price and needs
Traditional Views
Social meetings to set informal, off-the-
specifications job interactions
Traditional views of organizational buying have lacked
comprehensiveness. The literature of economics, pur- policy regarding methods of
Organizational local supplier personnel
chasing, and, to a limited degree, marketing has em- preference evaluation
phasized variables related to the buying task itself and
Environmental anticipated political clim
has emphasized "rational," economic factors. In these changes in prices in an election ye
economic views, the objective of purchasing is to obtain
the minimum price or the lowest total cost-in-use (as in
the materials management model'). Some of the models views have contributed to an understanding of t
focussing on the buying task have emphasized factors ing process, but none of them is complete.
that are not strictly economic such as reciprocal buy- extent that these models leave out task or
ing agreements2 and other constraints on the buyer such variables they offer incomplete guidelines for th
as source loyalty.3 trial market strategist and researcher. The t
Other traditional views of organizational buying err in interpreting research results based on these
in the opposite direction, emphasizing variables suchmodels is to overemphasize the importance of so
as emotion, personal goals, and internal politics that ables and to understate or ignore the impor
others.
are involved in the buying decision process but not
related to the goals of the buying task. This "nontask" An Overview of a General Model
emphasis is seen in models which emphasize the pur-
chasing agent's interest in obtaining personal favors,4 The fundamental assertion of the more comp
in enhancing his own ego,5 or in reducing perceived sive model to be presented here is that organ
risk.6 Other nontask models have emphasized buyer- buying is a decision-making process carried out
salesman interpersonal interaction7 and the multipledividuals, in interaction with other people, in t
relationships among individuals involved in the buying text of a formal organization.'o The organiza
process over time.8 The ways in which purchasing turn, is influenced by a variety of forces in the
agents attempt to expand their influence over the buy-ment. Thus, the four classes of variables determ
ing decision have also received careful study.9 Theseorganizational buying behavior are individua
organizational, and environmental. Within ea
1Dean S. Ammer, Materials Management (Homewood, there are two broad categories of variables: T
Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1962), pp. 12rectly and 15.related to the buying problem, called tas
2Dean S. Ammer, "Realistic Reciprocity," Harvard ables; Busi-
and those that extend beyond the buying
ness Review, Vol. 40 (January-February, 1962), called
pp.nontask
116- variables. This classification of v
124.
is summarized and illustrated in Table 1.
3Yoram Wind, "Industrial Source Loyalty," Journal of The distinction between task and nontask v
Marketing Research, Vol. 7 (November, 1970), pp. 450-
457. applies to all of the classes of variables, and sub
4For a statement of this view, see J. B. Matthews, Jr., R. to be discussed below. It is seldom possible to id
D. Buzzell, T. Levitt, and R. Frank, Marketing: An Intro- a given set of variables as exclusively task or no
ductory Analysis (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Com- rather, any given set of variables will have b
pany, Inc., 1964), p. 149. and nontask dimensions although one dimension
5 For an example, see William J. Stanton, Fundamentals predominant. For example, motives will inevita
of Marketing, Second Ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, Inc., 1967), p. 150. both dimensions-those relating directly to the
problem to be solved and those primarily concern
6 Theodore Levitt, Industrial Purchasing Behavior: A
Study of Communications Effects (Boston: Division of personal goals. These motives overlap in many i
Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, tant respects and need not conflict; a strong
Harvard University, 1965). personal involvement can create more effective
7Henry L. Tosi, "The Effects of Expectation Levels and decisions from an organizational standpoint.
Role Consensus on the Buyer-Seller Dyad," Journal of
Business, Vol. 39 (October, 1966), pp. 516-529. Organizational buying behavior is a complex p
(rather than a single, instantaneous act) and
8Robert E. Weigand, "Why Studying the Purchasing
Agent is Not Enough," JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 32 many persons, multiple goals, and potentially con
(January, 1968), pp. 41-45.
10The complete model is presented and discussed in detail
9George Strauss, "Tactics of Lateral Relationship," Ad-
in Frederick E. Webster, Jr. and Yoram Wind, Organi-
ministrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 7 (September, 1962),
pp. 161-186. zational Buying Behavior (Englewood Cliffs, New Jer-
sey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., in press).

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 14 Journal of Marketing, April, 1972

decision criteria. It often takes place factors

Third, environmental over an extended
determine the values and
period of time, requires information from many
norms guiding interorganizational sources,
and interpersonal re-
and encompasses many interorganizational relationships.
lationships between buyers and sellers as well as among
The organizational buyingcompetitors, process and between
is abuying
form organizations and other
of prob-
lem-solving, and a buying situation is created when institutions such as governments and trade associations.
someone in the organization perceives a problem-a Such values and norms may be codified into laws, or they
discrepancy between a desired outcome and the present may be implicit. Cultural, social, legal, and political
situation-that can potentially be solved through some forces are the dominant sources of values and norms.
buying action. Organizational buying behavior includes Finally, environmental forces influence the information
all activities of organizational members as they define flow into the buying organization. Most important here
a buying situation and identify, evaluate, and choose is the flow of marketing communications from potential
among alternative brands and suppliers. The buying suppliers, through the mass media and through other
center includes all members of the organization who are personal and impersonal channels. Information flows
involved in that process. The roles involved are those of reflect a variety of physical, technological, economic, and
user, influencer, decider, buyer, and gatekeeper (who cultural factors.
controls the flow of information into the buying center). The marketing strategist, whose customers are or-
Members of the buying center are motivated by a coim- ganizations, must carefully appraise each set of envir-
plex interaction of individual and organizational goals. onmental factors and identify and analyze the institu-
Their relationships with one another involve all the tions that exert those influences in each of the market
complexities of interpersonal interactions. The formal segments served. This kind of analysis is especially
organization exerts its influence on the buying center important in entering new markets. For example, eco-
through the subsystems of tasks, structure (communica- nomic factors as revealed in measures of general busi-
tion, authority, status, rewards, and work flow), tech- ness conditions must be continually assessed where mar-
nology, and people. Finally, the entire organization is ket prices fluctuate and buyers make decisions to build
embedded in a set of environmental influences including or reduce inventories based on price expectations. Simi-
economic, technological, physical, political, legal, and larly, the impact of technological change in markets
cultural forces. An overview of the model and a dia- served must be considered as the basis for strategic
grammatic presentation of the relationships among these decisions in the areas of product policy and promotion.
variables are given in Figure 1. The necessity of analyzing institutional forms is most
readily apparent when markets are multinational in
Environmental Influences scope and require specific consideration of government
policies and trade union influences. Environmental fac-
Environmental influences are subtle and pervasive as tors are important determinants of organizational buy-
well as difficult to identify and to measure. They in- ing behavior, but they can be so basic and pervasive that
fluence the buying process by providing information as
it is easy, and dangerous, to overlook them in analyzing
well as constraints and opportunities. Environmental the market.
influences include physical (geographic, climate, or
ecological), technological, economic, political, legal, and Organizational Influences
cultural factors. These influences are exerted through a
Organizational factors cause individual decision mak-
variety of institutions including business firms (sup-
ers to act differently than they would if they were func-
pliers, competitiors, and customers), governments,
tioning alone or in a different organization. Organiza-
trade unions, political parties, educational and medical
tional buying behavior is motivated and directed by the
institutions, trade associations, and professional groups.
organization's goals and is constrained by its financial,
The nature of these institutional forms will vary signifi-
technological, and human resources. This class of vari-
cantly from one country to another, and such differences
ables is primarily task-related. For understanding the
are critical to the planning of multinational marketing
strategies. influence of the formal organization on the buying
process, Leavitt's classification of variables is most help-
As Figure 1 illustrates, environmental influences have
ful.11 According to Leavitt's scheme, organizations are
their impact in four distinct ways. First, they define
multivariate systems composed of four sets of interact-
the availability of goods and services. This function
ing variables:
reflects especially the influence of physical, technologi-
cal, and economic factors. Second, they define the gen- Tasks-the work to be performed in accomplishing the
eral business conditions facing the buying organization objectives of the organization.
including the rate of economic growth, the level of na- Structure-subsystems of communication, authority,
tional income, interest rates, and unemployment. Eco- status, rewards, and work flow.
nomic and political forces are the dominant influences
on general business conditions. Some of these forces, 1 Harold J. Leavitt, "Applied Organization Change in In-
such as economic factors, are predominantly (but not dustry: Structural, Technical, and Human Approaches,"
in New Perspectives in Organization Research, W. W.
exclusively) task variables whereas others such as politi- Cooper, H. J. Leavitt, and M. W. Shelly, II, eds. (New
cal variables may be more heavily nontask in nature. York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1964), pp. 55-71.

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A General Model for Understanding Organizational Buying Behavior 15

Suppliers Customers Government Labor Unions Trade Professional Other Other Social
Associations Groups Business Firms Institutions

Information about Suppliers Availability of General Business Values and Norms

(Marketing Communications) Goods and Services Conditions

ORGANIZATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL

TECHNOLOGY STRUCTURE GOALS & TASKS ACTORS

TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION OF MEMBERS OF THE

RELEVANT FOR THE BUYING CEN- BUYING TASKS BUYING CENTER
TER AND THE PUR-
PURCHASING CHASING FUNCTION

Technological Member
Constraints & Group Group Characteristics
Technology Structure Tasks & Goals,
Available to Leadership
the Group

ACTIVITIES INTERACTIONS SENTIMENTS [oMM-" ACTIVITIES INTERACTIONS SENTIMENTS

BUYING
DECISIONS

BUYING DECISION PROCESS1. Individual

Decision- 2. Group
Decision
Making Unit Making Unit

FIGURE 1. A model of organizational buying behavior.

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 16 Journal of Marketing, April, 1972

Technology-problem-solving inventions
bers of the buying center used
at variousby
stagesthe
of the buyin
firm including plant and process.18
equipment and programs
for organizing and managing work.
People-the actors in the system.
Organizational Structure
Each of these subsystems interacts with, structure
The formal organizational and is de-
consists of subsys-
pendent upon, the others for its functioning. Together,
tems of communication, authority, status, rewards, and
these four interacting sets ofworkfactors
flow, all of define the informa-
which have important task and nontask
tion, expectations, goals, attitudes,
dimensions. Eachand assumptions
of these subsystems deserves used
careful
by each of the individual actors
study by in theirinterested
researchers decision making.
in organizational buying
This general model defines four distinct
The marketing literaturebut interrelated
does not include studies in thi
sets of variables that must be carefully
area. A beginning might considered in the
be several rigorous observa
development of marketing strategies
tional or case studies. designed to in-
fluence that process: buyingThe tasks, organization
communication subsystem performs struc-
four essentia
ture, buying technology, and the buying
functions: center.
(1) Information; (2) command and instruc
tion; (3) influence and persuasion; and (4) integra-
Buying Tasks tion.14 The marketer must understand how the com-
munication system in customer organizations informs
Buying tasks are a subset of organizational tasks and
the members of the buying center about buying prob-
goals that evolves from the definition of a buying situa-
lems, evaluation criteria (both task and nontask related),
tion. These are pure task variables by definition. The
and alternative sources of supply. He must appraise
specific tasks that must be performed to solve the buying
how commands and instructions (mostly task-related)
problem can be defined as five stages in the buying de-
flow through the hierarchy defining the discretion and
cision process: (1) Identification of need; (2) establish-
latitude of individual actors. The pattern of influence
ment of specifications; (3) identification of alternatives; and persuasion (heavily nontask in nature) defines the
(4) evaluation of alternatives; and (5) selection of sup- nature of interpersonal interactions within the buying
pliers.12 Buying tasks can be further defined according center. Organizational members may differ in the extent
to four dimensions:
to which they prefer either commands and instructions
(1) The organizational purpose served-e.g., whether or more subtle influence and persuasion to guide th
the reason for buying is to facilitate production, actions of subordinates. The integrative functions o
or for resale, or to be consumed in the perform- communication become critical in coordinating the func
ance of other organizational functions. tioning of the buying center and may be one of the
primary roles of the purchasing manager.
(2) The nature of demand, especially whether demand The authority subsystem defines the power of organi-
for the product is generated within the buying zational actors to judge, command, or otherwise act to
organization or by forces outside of the organiza- influence the behavior of others along both task and
tion (i.e., "derived" demand) as well as other nontask dimensions. No factor is more critical in un-
characteristics of the demand pattern such as sea- derstanding the organizational buying process because
sonal and cyclical fluctuations. the authority structure determines who sets goals and
(3) The extent of programming; i.e., the degree of who evaluates (and therefore determines rewards for)
routinization at the five stages of the decision organizational performance. The authority structure
process. interacts with the communication structure to determine

(4) The degree of decentralization and the extent the

to degree of decentralization in the decision process.
The status system is reflected in the organization chart
which buying authority has been delegated to
and defines the hierarchical structure of the formal
operating levels in the organization.
organization. It also expresses itself in an informal
Each of these four dimensions influences the nature of
structure. Both the formal and the informal organiza-
the organizational buying process and must be con-
tion define each individual's position in a hierarchy with
sidered in appraising market opportunities. At each of
the five stages of the decision process, different members
lS For research on the influence of organizational actors and
of the buying center may be involved, different decision information sources at various stages of the decision
criteria are employed, and different information sources process, see Urban B. Ozanne and Gilbert A. Churchill,
"Adoption Research: Information Sources in the Indus-
may become more or less relevant. Marketing strategies trial Purchasing Decision," in Marketing and the New
must be adjusted accordingly. There are rich researchScience of Planning, Robert L. King, ed. (Chicago, Ill.:
American Marketing Association, Fall, 1968), pp. 352-
opportunities in defining the influence of different mem-
359; and Frederick E. Webster, Jr., "Informal Com-
munication in Industrial Markets," Journal of Marketing
'2A modified version of this model is presented in P. Research,
J. Vol. 7 (May, 1970), pp. 186-189.
Robinson, C. W. Faris, and Y. Wind, Industrial Buying
14Lee Thayer, Communication and Communication Systems
and Creative Marketing (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.,(Homewood, Ill.: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1968), pp. 187-
1967), p. 14. 250.

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 A General Model for Understanding Organizational Buying Behavior 17

respect to other individuals. Job descriptions define skills of production personnel, and substantial changes
positions within the organization and the associated in methods of production.
dimensions of responsibility and authority. Knowing
the responsibility, authority, and the position in Buying the Center
internal status hierarchy of each member of the buying The buying center is a subset of the organizational
center is a necessary basis for developing an account actors, the last of the four sets of variables in the Lea-
strategy for the organizational customer. A complete vitt scheme. The buying center was earlier defined as
theory of organizational buying will permit accurate consisting of five roles: users, influencers, deciders,
predictions of an organizational actor's influence based buyers, and gatekeepers. Since people operate as part
upon his position and role. of the total organization, the behavior of members of
The rewards system defines the payoffs to the individ- the buying center reflects the influence of others as well
ual decision maker. It is intimately related to the as the effect of the buying task, the organizational struc-
authority system which determines the responsibilities ture, and technology.
of organizational actors for evaluating other individ- This interaction leads to unique buying behavior in
uals. Here is the mechanism for relating organizational each customer organization. The marketing strategist
task accomplishment to individual nontask objectives. who wishes to influence the organizational buying process
Persons join organizations in anticipation of the re- must, therefore, define and understand the operation of
wards given by the organization and agree to work these four sets of organizational variables-tasks,
toward organizational objectives in return for those re- structure, technology, and actors-in each organization
wards. A careful analysis of the formal and social he is trying to influence. The foregoing comments
reward structure of the organization as it affects and is provide only the skeleton of an analytical structure
perceived by the members of the buying center can be for considering each of these factors and its impli-
most helpful in predicting their response to marketing cations for marketing action in a specific buying situa-
effort. The key fact is that people work for organiza- tion. The marketer's problem is to define the locus of
tions in order to earn rewards related to personal goals,
buying responsibility within the customer organization,
both economic and noneconomic.15 to define the composition of the buying center, and to
Every buying organization develops task-related pro- understand the structure of roles and authority within
cedures for managing the work flow of paperwork, the buying center.
samples, and other items involved in the buying deci-
sion process. The flow of paperwork also has nontask Social (Interpersonal) Influences
aspects which reflect the composition of the buying The framework for understanding the buying decision
center as well as the authority and communication sub- process must identify and relate three classes of vari-
systems of an organizational structure. Needless to say, ables involved in group functioning in the buying center.
marketers must understand the mechanical details of
First, the various roles in the buying center must be
buying procedures. Such procedures also provide docu- identified. Second, the variables relating to interper-
mentation of the buying process that can provide useful
sonal (dyadic) interaction between persons in the buy-
data for the academic researcher.
ing center and between members of the buying center
and "outsiders" such as vendors' salesmen must be
Buying Technology
identified. Third, the dimensions of the functioning of
Technology influences both what is bought and the the group as a whole must be considered. Each of
nature of the organizational buying process itself. In
these three sets of factors is discussed briefly in the
the latter respect, technology defines the management following paragraphs.
and information systems that are involved in the buying Within the organization as a whole only a subset of
decision process, such as computers and management
organizational actors is actually involved in a buying
science approaches to such aspects of buying as "make situation. The buying center includes five roles:
or buy" analysis. More obviously, technology defines
the plant and equipment of the organization, and these, Users-those members of the organization who use the
in turn, place significant constraints upon the alternative purchased products and services.
buying actions available to the organization. It is a Buyers-those with formal responsibility and author-
common failing of industrial marketing strategy, espe- ity for contracting with suppliers.
cially for new product introductions, to underestimate Influencers-those who influence the decision process
the demands that will be placed upon existing technology directly or indirectly by providing information
in customer organizations.'6 A new material, for ex- and criteria for evaluating alternative buying
actions.
ample, may require new dies and mixing equipment, new
Deciders-those with authority to choose among al-
15 Yoram Wind, "A Reward-Balance Model of Buying Be- ternative buying actions.
havior in Organizations," in New Essays in Marketing Gatekeepers-those who control the flow of informa-
Theory, G. Fisk ed. (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1971).
16Frederick E. Webster, Jr., "New Product Adoption in tion (and materials) into the buying center.
Industrial Markets: A Framework for Analysis," JOUR-Several individuals may occupy the same role; e.g.,
NAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 33 (July, 1969), pp. 35-39.
there may be several influencers. Also, one individual

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 18 Journal of Marketing, April, 1972

may occupy more than one role; e.g.,

ganizational policies); the purchasing
personal-political tactics (e.g.,
agent is often both buyer reliance
and on gatekeeper.
informal relationships and friendships to get
To understand interpersonal interaction
decisions made and an exchange ofwithin the
favors with other
buying center, it is useful members
to consider
of the buyingthree aspects
center); educational of
tactics
role performance: (1) Role expectations
(e.g., persuading other members (prescriptions
of the organization to
and prohibitions for the behavior of terms
think in purchasing theand person
to recognize occupy-
the impor-
ing the role and for the behavior of other
tance and potential contributionpersons toward
of the purchasing func-
a given role); (2) role behavior (actual
tion); and finally, behavior in
organizational-interactional the
tactics
role); and (3) role relationships (the
(e.g., change the formal multiple and
organizational structure re-
and the
ciprocal relationships amongpattern ofmembers of the
reporting relationships group)
and information
Together, these three variables
flows). define the individual's
role set. An awareness of each of these dimensions is Buyers who are ambitious and wish to extend the
necessary for the salesman responsible for contacting scope of their influence will adopt certain tactics and
the various members of the buying center. It is espe- engage in bargaining activities in an attempt to become
cially important to understand how each member expectsmore influential at earlier stages of the buying process.
the salesman to behave toward him and the important These tactics or bargaining strategies define the nature
ongoing relationships among roles in the buying center. of the buyer's relationships with others of equal organi-
As illustrated in Figure 1, the nature of group func- zational status and structure the social situation that
tioning is influenced by five classes of variables-thethe potential supplier must face in dealing with the
individual members' goals and personal characteristics, buying organization. An understanding of the nature
the nature of leadership within the group, the structureof interpersonal relationships in the buying organiza-
of the group, the tasks performed by the group, and tion is an important basis for the development of mar-
external (organizational and environmental) influences. keting strategy.
Group processes involve not only activities but also
interactions and sentiments among members, which have The Influence of the Individual
both task and nontask dimensions. Finally, the output
In the final analysis, all organizational buying be-
of the group is not only a task-oriented problem solu-
havior is individual behavior. Only the individual as
tion (a buying action) but also nontask satisfaction and
an individual or a member of a group can define and
growth for the group and its members.
analyze buying situations, decide, and act. In this
In analyzing the functioning of the buying center,
behavior, the individual is motivated by a complex com-
it helps to focus attention on the buyer role, primarily
bination of personal and organizational objectives, con-
because a member of the purchasing department is
strained by policies and information filtered through the
most often the marketer's primary contact point with
formal organization, and influenced by other members
the organization. Buyers often have authority for
of the buying center. The individual is at the center
managing the contacts of suppliers with other organiza-
of the buying process, operating within the buying cen-
tional actors, and thus also perform the "gatekeeper"
ter that is in turn bounded by the formal organization
function. While the buyer's authority for selection of
which is likewise embedded in the influences of the
suppliers may be seriously constrained by decisions at
broader environment. It is the specific individual who
earlier stages of the decision process (especially the
is the target for marketing effort, not the abstract or-
development of specifications), he has responsibility for
ganization.
the terminal stages of the process. In other words,
the buyer (or purchasing agent) is in most cases the The organizational buyer's personality, perceived role
set, motivation, cognition, and learning are the basic
final decision maker and the target of influence attempts
by other members of the buying center.
psychological processes which affect his response to the
buying situation and marketing stimuli provided by
In performing their task, purchasing agents use a
potential vendors. Similar to consumer markets, it is
variety of tactics to enhance their power which vary
important to understand the organizational buyer's
with the specific problems, the conditions of the organi-
psychological characteristics and especially his predis-
zation, and the purchasing agent's personality. The
positions, preference structure, and decision model as
tactics used by purchasing agents to influence their rela-
the basis for marketing strategy decisions. Some initial
tionships with other departments can be viewed as a
attempts to develop categories of buying decision makers
special case of the more general phenomenon of "lateral"
according to characteristic decision styles ("normative"
relationships in formal organizations-those among
members of approximately equal status in the formal and "conservative") have been reported.'s Cultural,
organizational hierarchy.17 These include rule-oriented
tactics (e.g., appealing to the boss for the enforcement 18David T. Wilson, H. Lee Mathews, and Timothy W.
Sweeney, "Industrial Buyer Segmentation: A Psycho-
of organizational policy; appealing to rules and formal graphic Approach," paper presented at the Fall, 1971
statements of authority); rule-evading tactics (e.g., Conference of the American Marketing Association. See
compliance with requests from users that violate or- also Richard N. Cardozo, "Segmenting the Industrial
Market," in Marketing and the New Science of Planning,
17 Same reference as footnote 9. Robert L. King ed. (Chicago: American Marketing As-
sociation, 1969), pp. 433-440.

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 A General Model for Understanding Buying Behavior 19

organizational, and social factors are important sonal advancement influ-

and recognition. Risk-reduction mo-
ences on the individual and are reflected tivesinare his previous
related, but somewhat less obvious, and provide
experiences, awareness of, attitudes aand criticalpreference
link between the individual and the organiza-
toward particular vendors and products and his par-
tional decision-making process. This is also a key com-
ticular buying decision models. ponent of the behavioral theory of the firm19 where
The organizational buyer can, therefore, be avoidance
uncertainty viewed is aas
key motivator of organiza-
a constrained decision maker. Althoughtional theactors.
basic mental
processes of motivation, cognition, and The learning
individual's asperception
well of risk in a decision situa-
as the buyer's personality, perceived role tionset,
is a function
preference of uncertainty (in the sense of a
structure, and decision model are uniquely probabilistic assessment) and of the value of various
individual;
they are influenced by the context of interpersonal outcomes. Three kinds andof uncertainty are significant:
organizational influences within which the individual
Uncertainty is
about available alternatives; uncertainty
embedded. The organizational buyer is about motivated
the outcomes byassociated
a with various alternatives;
complex combination of individual and organizational
and uncertainty about the way relevant other persons
objectives and is dependent upon others willfor
react the satis-
to various outcomes.20 This uncertainty about
faction of these needs in several ways.the These
reaction other
of other peo-
persons may be due to incomplete
ple define the role expectations for theinformation individual, aboutthey
their goals or about how an outcome
determine the payoffs he is to receive will for be his
evaluated and rewarded.
perform-
ance, they influence the definition of the goals gathering
Information to be is the most obvious tactic for
pursued in the buying decision, and they provide
reducing infor-
uncertainty, while decision avoidance and low-
mation with which the individual attempts ering of to goalsevaluate
are means of reducing the value of out-
risks and come to a decision. comes. A preference for the status quo is perhaps the
most common mode of risk reduction, since it removes
Task and Nontask Motives uncertainty and minimizes the possibility of negative
outcomes. This is one explanation for the large amount
Only rarely can the organizational buyer let purely
of source loyalty found in organizational buying and is
personal considerations influence his buying decisions:
consistent with the "satisficing" postulate of the be-
In a situation where "all other things are equal," the
havioral theory of the firm.
individual may be able to apply strictly personal (non-
The individual determinants of organizational buyer
task) criteria when making his final decision. In the
behavior and the tactics which buyers are likely to use
unlikely event that two or more potential vendors offer
in their dealings with potential vendors must be clearly
pr6ducts of comparable quality and service at a com-
understood by those who want to affect their behavior.
parable price, then the organizational buyer may be
motivated by purely personal, nontask variables such as
his personal preferences for dealing with a particular Summary
salesman, or some special favor or gift available from This article has suggested the major dimensions and
the supplier. mechanisms involved in the complex organizational buy-
The organizational buyer's motivation has both task ing process. The framework presented here is reason-
and nontask dimensions. Task-related motives relate to ably complete although the details clearly are lacking.
the specific buying problem to be solved and involve the It is hoped that these comments have been sufficient to
general criteria of buying "the right quality in the right suggest a general model of the organizational buying
quantity at the right price for delivery at the right time process with important implications for the development
from the right source." Of course, what is "right" is a of effective marketing and selling strategies as well as
difficult question, especially to the extent that important some implicit suggestions for scholarly research. The
buying influencers have conflicting needs and criteria for model is offered as a skeleton identifying the major
evaluating the buyer's performance. variables that must be appraised in developing the in-
Nontask-related motives may often be more important, formation required for planning strategies. Hopefully,
although there is frequently a rather direct relationship the model has also suggested some new insights into an
between task and nontask motives. For example, the important area of buying behavior presently receiving
buyer's desire for promotion (a nontask motive) can inadequate attention in the marketing literature.
significantly influence his task performance. In other
words, there is no necessary conflict between task and 19Richard M. Oyert and James G. March, A Behavioral
nontask motives and, in fact, the pursuit of nontask ob- Theory of the Firm (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-
jectives can enhance the attainment of task objectives. Hall, 1963).
Broadly speaking, nontask motives can be placed into M2Donald F. Cox, ed., Bisk Taking and Information Han-
dling in Consumer Behavior (Boston: Division of Re-
two categories: achievement motives and risk-reduction
search, Graduate School of Business Administration, Har-
motives. Achievement motives are those related to per- vard University, 1967).

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