152 The Marketing Book
This necessarily brief discussion of buying
stages underlines several of the models of
buying behaviour discussed later in this chap-
ter. Before moving on to this topic, however, it
is necessary to consider the last characteristic of
organizations – the motivations and objectives
of the organizations and their members.
Buying goals
Both Cox (1966) and Campbell (1966) have
analysed the buying behaviour as a problem-
solving activity and recognize that the whole
purchasing process is designed to meet certain
aims or objectives on both the organizational
level and the individual level. These objectives,
it is suggested, can relate either directly or
indirectly to the buying task. However, a
variety of factors can intervene between the
original purchase objectives and the final buy-
ing decision. The cost of searching for the
product or service that exactly fits the purchase
specifications may be prohibitive or, alterna-
tively, such a product or service may not be
available. White (1969) indicated that in some
instances a major determinant of buying behav-
iour is the desire for work simplification.
Therefore, in many instances both organi-
zations and individuals may be pursuing ‘sat-
isficing’ rather than maximizing courses of
action in their behaviour, whereby a com-
promise will be reached between the attain-
ment of the purchasing objectives and the
actual purchase.
Models of organizational buying behaviour
The previous discussion of the decision-making
unit, purchase situation and buying stages is
fundamental to an understanding of the vari-
ous models of organizational buyer behaviour
which have been postulated in the past 30
years. The purpose of modelling buyer behav-
iour is to clarify the relationships between
various inputs, such as selling, previous experi-
ence or competitor activities, the purchasing
process and the outputs, which are the pur-
chase or rejection of a product or service from a
particular source.
Many models have been proposed and an
excellent summary of the early work in the field
is made by Webster and Wind (1972b) in their
book, Organizational Buyer Behaviour. The
authors define four main categories of model:1 Task-related.
2 Non-task related.
3 Complex.
4 Multidimensional.Task-related models
These are based on the view that the desire for
rational or optimal outcomes is a fundamental
determinant of behaviour. These models focus
on concepts such as lowest purchase price,
lowest total cost, constrained choice, rational
economics, and materials management.Non-task-related models
With non-task-related models, the perspective
shifts from the demands of the task to be
accomplished to the personal interests that
might be affected by the outcome. Examples of
the key concepts used in non-task-related mod-
els include: Individual desire for ego enhancement or
personal gain.
Desire to avoid risk in decision making (Bauer,
1960; Newall, 1977).
Gratification of buyer and seller through a
dyadic relationship (Evans, 1963; Bonoma and
Johnston, 1978).
Lateral relationships between buyer and
colleagues (Tosi, 1966).
Relationships with significant other persons
from within the company, and their effect on
transmission and interpretation of information
(Webster, 1965).