Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pricing objectives that business-to-business (B2B) service companies pursue to set their prices and to examine the impact of market structure on these objectives.

To achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 193 companies operating in four different B2B service industries.

The findings of the study indicate that, in the current study, the companies investigated seem to follow various pricing objectives with a particular emphasis being placed on customer-related ones. The study also reveals that the market structure does have an impact on the pricing objectives pursued because different market conditions are found to lead to different pricing objectives.

The above findings indicate that the managers responsible for setting prices within their firms should follow a “situation-specific approach” and be guided by the unique characteristics of their markets.

Given the lack of similar studies in the existing B2B services literature, the value of the paper is that it represents one of the first attempts to empirically examine this issue.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics that lead to the adoption of the three new business-to-business (B2B) product pricing strategies, namely, skimming pricing (i.e. a high initial price), penetration pricing (i.e. a low initial price) and pricing similar to competitive prices.

To achieve the study’s research objectives, data were collected through a mail survey from 116 B2B firms, operating in four different sectors.

The adoption of skimming pricing and penetration pricing is triggered by company-related factors that are associated with the company’s corporate and marketing strategy and the product characteristics, while the adoption of pricing similar to competitive prices is influenced by market-related factors that are associated with customers’ and competitors’ characteristics.

The above findings indicate that the managers responsible for setting prices for new B2B products should follow a “situation-specific approach” and be guided by the unique characteristics of their internal and external environment.

Its contribution lies on the fact that, building upon quests within the existing literature, it constitutes one of the first attempts to examine empirically the aforementioned issue.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pricing objectives (e.g. customer-related objectives, sales-related objectives, profit-related objectives) that service companies pursue to set their prices and to examine the impact of market structure on these objectives.

To achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 184 companies operating in four different service industries, namely, logistics companies, financial services providers, information technology companies and airlines.

The findings indicate that the companies that were investigated in the current study seem to follow a hierarchy of pricing objectives, in which their main focus is on the maintenance of the existing customers and the attraction of new ones to ensure their long-term survival in their market without, however, disregarding financial issues and objectives. The study also revealed that the market structure, along with the sector of operation, has an impact on the pricing objectives pursued, as different market conditions were found to lead to different pricing objectives.

The above findings indicate that managers responsible for setting prices within their firms should be guided by the unique characteristics of their markets.

Given the lack of similar studies within the existing services sector literature, the originality/value of the paper lies in the fact that it presents one of the first attempts to empirically examine this issue from a marketing point of view.

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the extent to which companies that operate in business-to-business (B2B) financial service markets adopt any form of pricing research along with the different pricing objectives that they pursue in comparison with companies that do not adopt such kind of research.

To achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 143 companies operating in three different B2B financial service industries.

The findings of the study indicate that companies that adopt any form of pricing research are mainly based on historical sales data and personal in-depth interviews. Moreover, they focus more on both company and market related pricing objectives than those companies that do not adopt such pricing research methods when setting their prices.

The above findings indicate that the managers responsible for setting prices within their firms might have to gain a lot by adopting a research orientation when setting their prices, since such orientation may lead them to a more holistic approach regarding pricing decision-making by focusing on both company and market related issues.

Given the lack of similar studies in the existing B2B financial services literature, the value of the paper is that it represents one of the first attempts to empirically examine this issue.

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the success factors of new-to-the-firm health services.

The study was based on the case study methodology with three leading health organizations.

The study’s findings indicate that the success factors of new health services are largely in line with the literature on new service development. Our study also revealed the significance of two factors that have not been identified by previous studies, namely, branding and doctors’ participation in the new service development process.

Introducing a successful new health service into the market seems to require an emphasis on a variety of factors related to the company’s internal and external environment, while two important characteristics are the role of branding and doctors. Despite its acceptance as a scientific method, the case study approach that was selected limits the ability to generalize the results to the broader health industry.

The current study represents one of the first attempts to examine the above topic in a health-related service context.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into how service firms price the services that they render in the market. In particular, the association between the pricing objectives that they pursue and the organizational and environmental characteristics that influence pricing decisions are investigated.

Data are collected from 170 companies operating in six different service sectors in Greece through personal interviews. Moreover, qualitative research through 26 in‐depth interviews is also conducted.

Following the classification scheme put forward by Avlonitis and Indounas, it can be concluded that a combination of different organizational and environmental characteristics leads to each one of the eight pricing objectives examined in the study.

The above findings indicate the need to treat pricing decisions using a contingency approach. Formulating a specific pricing objective requires an examination of certain organizational and environmental concerns. The significance of these findings notwithstanding, the context of the study (Greece) is the most important caveat, since it limits the ability to generalize the results to other countries.

This paper represents the first attempt to empirically examine the potential association between the aforementioned pricing objectives and characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the extent to which selected contextual variables have an impact on the adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service firms, and determine the effect of the adoption of strategic pricing on company performance.

Data were collected from 154 industrial service firms operating in four different service sectors through a mail survey. Moreover, qualitative research through 20 in-depth interviews was carried out.

The study’s main findings indicate that market orientation along with a leading position in the market and market growth boost the development of strategic pricing. On the other hand, technological and market turbulence hinder this development, while the overall impact of turbulence is reduced in market-oriented firms. Finally, a positive impact of strategic pricing on company performance was found.

The adoption of strategic pricing requires attention to a variety of factors, while this adoption can improve both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the company’s performance. The significance of these findings notwithstanding, the context of the study does limit generalization of its findings to other industrial service sectors and national contexts.

The current study represents one of the first attempts to empirically examine the aforementioned topics in an industrial service context.

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the impact of a number of variables on the adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service firms, and the effect of this adoption on company performance.

Data were collected from 301 industrial service firms operating in seven different service sectors through a mail survey. Moreover, qualitative research through 35 in-depth interviews was conducted.

The findings reveal that market orientation and market growth boost the development of strategic pricing. On the other hand, technological and market turbulence hinder this development, while the overall impact of turbulence is reduced in market-oriented firms. Finally, strategic pricing has a positive impact on company performance in both quantitative and qualitative terms.

The adoption of strategic pricing requires attention to a variety of company- and market-related factors, while this adoption can improve various aspects of company performance. The addition of other moderating and mediating effects could certainly provide additional insights.

The current study represents one of the first attempts to empirically examine the above topics in an industrial service context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between pricing and ethics in two industrial service contexts. In particular the pricing practices that lead to non‐ethical pricing behavior along with the factors that could reduce such a behavior are examined. Moreover, the extent is addressed to which companies that do perceive that pricing decisions entail ethical considerations are differentiated from those companies that do not hold such a perception in terms of the pricing objectives that they pursue in order to set their prices.

In order to achieve the study's research objectives, data were collected from 177 companies, operating in the transportation and information technology industries through a mail survey. Moreover, 20 in‐depth personal interviews were conducted in the initial phase of the research.

The main pricing practices that were perceived as being non‐ethical by respondents are related to determination of prices that lead to excessive profits, take advantage of a customer's needs and are below cost. Regarding the factors that could reduce such a behavior, the study concluded that a corporate culture that facilitates a customer orientation towards pricing decisions, the market's own mechanisms and the agreements between companies are more effective than governmental intervention. Furthermore, companies that do perceive that pricing decisions are related to ethical considerations tend to follow a more balanced approach when setting prices by pursuing both customer‐ and competition‐oriented pricing objectives, without, however, overlooking financial objectives.

The practical implications of the findings refer to the fact that managers might have a lot to gain by avoiding pricing practices that raise ethical considerations and endeavoring to understand the potential ethical implications of these practices. The significance of these findings notwithstanding, the context of the study is the most important caveat since it limits the ability to generalize the results in other sectors and countries.

The contribution of the paper lies in the fact that it presents the first attempt to empirically examine the relationship between pricing and ethics in an industrial service context.

The purpose of the present study is to explore the pricing methods that service companies adopt in order to set their prices, along with the service, organizational and environmental characteristics that influence these methods.

To achieve the research objectives, data were collected through personal interviews in 170 companies operating in six different services sectors in Greece.

The study concluded that the two most popular pricing methods are the traditional “cost‐plus” method and “pricing according to the market's average prices”, while all the other methods (including customer‐based methods) are adopted by a small number of companies in the sample. Similarly, “service cost” along with “competitors' prices” were found to be the two most important characteristics that are taken into consideration when setting prices.

Despite the importance attached to cost and competitive issues when setting prices, pricing decisions need to be treated from a more “holistic” approach, where apart from cost and competition, emphasis will also be placed on other company and environmentally related characteristics, including customers. The significance of these findings notwithstanding, the context of the study is a caveat, since it limits the ability to generalize the results to other countries.

The contribution of the paper lies in the fact that it presents the first attempt to examine empirically the potential impact of these characteristics on the pricing methods used.