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Although there is increasing interest in the organizational learning process appearing in the marketing literature, there is relatively little research that relates these concepts to the organizational buying process. In particular, the concepts involving organizational memory may provide a new perspective on the information search activities of organizational buyers. We provide a brief background on organizational memory and propose a conceptual framework to delineate key variables and relationships. Using two company case studies, we provide examples of eight buying situations defined by differing levels of complexity, physical memory, and cognitive memory and discuss the implications for information search and the type of judgment used.

Highlights some of the major conceptual and methodological issues involved in organisational buying behaviour. Aims to avoid pitfalls involved in the utilisation of research regarding specified issues — at the same time stimulating research aimed at the resolution of these issues. Reviews the current status of organisational buying behaviour, follows this by identifying five potential groups of users of information on organisational buying behaviour. Goes on to focus on the conceptual and methodological issues involved in organisational buying research. Suggests new research directions which, if implemented, could help advance the relevance and quality of organisational buying research. States that academic studies, directly concerned with a better understanding of organisational buying behaviour can be classified as falling into one of three areas the: buying centre (least studied area); organisational buying centre and process; or factors affecting the organisational buying centre and process. Purports that these three concepts can provide the basis for organising much of the diverse research efforts in organisational buying behaviour and goes on to illustrate findings from each of these areas and discusses them in depth.

Recent research suggests that organizations cycle through a small set of possible configurations. Each buying center as an informal organization within one of these four viable types of structure will exhibit distinct configuration attributes. Describing and predicting the buying center's configuration as indicated by organizational structure are the purpose of this research.

Data collected via mail survey are used to classify organizations into hypothesized segments via K‐means cluster analysis. Buying center structure is contrasted and tested for differences using MANOVA, MDA, and post hoc t‐tests.

The extensivity or level of participation in the buying center is significantly related to the type of organization. Organizational formalization and centralization are consistently related to the formalization and centrality of the buying center.

The generalizability of the findings is limited as the sample is from a single US geographical area. Buying center participation and structure may be a function of the product. Research findings are limited to a specific service.

Awareness of the structure of the buying center is useful for marketing and sales managers. This knowledge can guide their efforts to allocate scarce sales resources at appropriate levels for business customers.

This paper closes a gap in the business‐to‐business marketing literature about antecedents to the buying center's structure.

The purpose of this study is to examine, through the lens of the buying center concept, a theorized link between organizational buying behavior (OBB) and a national culture of collectivism, large power distance, particularism and a wasta practice.

A qualitative methodology was used to gain better understanding of OBB in an under-researched business environment of the Arabian Gulf. The data come from 41 organizational practitioners who reported on the industrial buying processes in their organizations with reference to the buying center framework.

The study developed a model of the buying center for the emerging markets governed by socio-political institutions.

The data were obtained only from one culturally specific world region.

To attain efficacious results in culturally distant business environments, industrial marketers should complement home country experience with a thorough understanding of how national cultures affect the dynamics of OBB.

The study updates the conceptualization of the buying center’s organizational actors (OAs) for business contexts beyond traditional, mature markets. It reveals the typology of decisional influencers, introduces and defines the role of advisers and clarifies the role of the gatekeeping bureaucracy and differing perceptions thereof by OAs.

Acknowledges the multiperson nature of the industrial business buying process and the development of the buying centre as the unit of analysis for business/organization buying behaviour. Addresses two main themes: conceptual issues and alternative views; and methodological dilemma. Looks at the concept of the buying centre and discusses structural properties and process considerations of the buying centre. Closes by outlining research opportunities. Concludes that present research suffers from two major flaws which inhibit development; that buying centre research tends to be descriptive, with over‐reliance on anecdotal information so that research is devoid of any theoretical foundation; and secondly many present findings have grown from research which reflects individual methodologies.

This paper aims to investigate the dynamics of the organizational buying process of radical software innovations. Acquisition of technology innovations by early adopting organizations has been studied previously with scant attention being given to the actual buying process and the risk mitigation mechanism. This paper addresses these gaps in the literature and this paper finds evidence to support that the organizational buying process of radical software innovations is different from the general models of organizational buying.

Methods from the grounded theory approach were used to conduct 20 in-depth interviews with senior industry practitioners. Purposive sampling was used to identify the participants.

A theoretical model of the organizational buying process of radical software innovations emerged with themes and concepts that explain the dynamics of the buying and adoption processes. The paper challenges the fundamental tenet of organizational buying that needs recognition triggers the buying process. An interesting nuance was found that risk is mitigated within the buying action itself.

An understanding of the buyer behaviour process will help marketers of radical software innovations to formulate the appropriate marketing response. Sales personnel can attune their customer interactions when helping customers to acquire a radical software innovation. Firms that want to be early adopters and innovate can tune their buying process in line with the findings.

This paper develops a typological buying model. It unravels the dynamics of the adoption process by discussing how early adopting organizations buy radical software innovations. New concepts with rich explanatory powers are discussed.

This paper aims to explore buying decision factors and approaches of companies operating in manufacturing industry in Croatia.

The data collected by company survey were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, cluster analysis and cross-tabulation analysis.

Results show that manufacturers are influenced by six distinctive factors when making purchasing decisions. These are supplier’s flexibility, supplier’s reliability, interdepartmental communication, top management support, routine purchases and buyer’s price sensitivity. Manufacturers can be classified in four different groups according to their buying decision-making patterns.

This paper provides a set of factors and approaches which might help selling companies and sales representatives understand the purchasing practices of buying company better, and develop adaptive selling approaches accordingly.

Based on a literature review and field research, an instrument of organizational buying behaviour was developed and tested in the Croatian manufacturing industry. The factors of organizational buying behaviour patterns were identified, and the typology of buying decision approaches applicable for manufacturing industry was developed.

Provides a new paradigm capable of integrating and developing research, which, it proposes, gives a better understanding of industrial buyer behaviours. Concludes that the model provided can be used by practitioners as a basis on which to form their marketing message, but not its style of delivery or specific direction.

The purpose of this paper is to study does the structure of buying centre networks dynamically change between buying situations and during the buying processes. Furthermore, the influence of organizational culture on participation, extensivity, lateral involvement, and vertical involvement of buying centre networks is studied.

A qualitative study with empirical data gathered by semi‐structured interviews with the help of structured questions among Finnish business organizations early in 2007. The empirical data consist of 40 interviews conducted among small and medium sized companies. For the data analyses, the data were separately classified into themes relevant for each of the topics analyzed. The structured questions were used for validating the findings of qualitative analyses.

The structure of buying centre networks was found to be highly dynamic and change significantly between buying situations and phases of the buying process. Five types of networks were identified: expert, inward‐oriented informal networks; extensive, specialist and inward‐oriented formal networks; extensive, outward and more management‐oriented co‐operative networks; specification‐oriented management and responsibility‐led co‐operative networks; and management‐led specialist‐oriented versatile networks. The results also suggest power distance, risk tolerance, and individualism/collectivism are useful measures for analysing the factors influencing the structure of buying centre networks and explaining differences between buying situations and stages of the buying process.

Change in the surrounding business and technology environment means that buying centre networks are forced to follow suit, in order to maintain competitiveness and the efficiency of their buying operations. While cultural differences are commonly known to influence organizational behaviour, the effects of the organizational culture on buying centre network structures have not sufficiently been studied.

Given that planned marketing strategies and observable behaviors often are contingent on buyer and third‐party (e.g. competitor) responses, deep understanding and descriptions of the thoughts and actions of marketers need to reflect the dynamic interplay of such contingencies. The same view applies to planned organizational buying strategies and observable behaviors: buying behavior adapts through time based on information learned and marketers’ responses to requests made by the customer organization. Consequently, a two‐way, or multiple‐party, approach to theory construction is useful in particular for mapping the “if‐then” responses of the marketer’s thoughts/actions linked with the if‐then responses of buyers’ thoughts/actions through several time periods. Using in‐depth interviews and case histories of one marketing organization and 28 buying organizations related to the office furniture industry, the article illustrates descriptive modeling of the contingency dynamics in the thoughts and actions across the multiple parties involved in marketing‐buying interactions.