The Marketing Book 5th Edition

Environment

Market structure

Dynamism

Internationalization

Position in the manufacturing channel

Social system

Atmosphere

Power/dependence

Cooperation

Closeness

Expectations

Organization

● Technology

● Structure

● Strategy

Individual

● Aims

● Experience

Short

term

Long

term

Product/service

Information

Financial

Exchange

episodes

Interaction process

Organization

Institutionalization Individual

Adaptations Relationships

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Business-to-business marketing: organizational buying behaviour, relationships and networks 159

most basic elements of the decision process.
It stresses the necessity that marketers are
perceptive and flexible in the definition and
satisfaction of customer needs. This is done by
placing greater emphasis on the processes and
relationships which occur between and within
buying and selling organizations. The inter-
action approach to business-to-business market-
ing is now firmly established and recognized in
Europe as an important and realistic con-
ceptualization of the realities of marketing and
purchasing behaviour in business markets.
More recently, this has been recognized by
scholars throughout the world and Webster
(1992), in a discussion of the changing role
of marketing, recognizes the limitations of
previous models and stresses the need for
marketers to understand and manage long-term
relationships and networks of organizations.
Hakansson (1982) emphasizes the following
points to distinguish their approach:

 Buyers and sellers are seen as active
participants in the transaction. The buyer is

thus not limited to a passive role and can

seek to influence the nature of the marketing

inputs that are offered.

 Buyer–seller relationships are often long

term in nature, tend to be based on mutual

trust rather than a formal contract, and

often start months or even years before

money and goods are exchanged.

 Complex patterns of interaction evolve

between and within the companies and their

different departments.

 Because of the complex nature of

relationships, marketers and purchasers may

be more involved with supporting and

maintaining these than with actually buying

and selling.

 The links between buyers and sellers may

become institutionalized.

From these observations, industrial purchasing

decisions may be seen to vary as a function of

four main areas of variables. The interrelation-

ships of these four key areas are illustrated in

Figure 7.3.

Figure 7.3 The main elements of the interaction model
Source: Hakansson, 1982.