Internal and external buying center membership in high technology business markets

• Published in: Journal of high technology management research 1996-03, Vol.7 (1), p.107-127
• Main Authors: Dawes, Philip L., Patterson, Paul G., Lee, Don Y.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1047-8310; 1879-1638
• DOI: 10.1016/S1047-8310(96)90018-8

Utilizing an open-systems' perspective, the authors develop an integrative causal model to explain buying center structure in 302 organizations which had recently made a bigticket purchase in the information technology area. This perspective is adopted because it takes account of the fact that, in response to the rapidly changing marketplace, organizations are increasingly relying on work groups that span traditional organizational boundaries. This is particulary true for work groups, such as buying centers, which are involved in high technology projects. Accordingly, we argue that it is necessary for researchers to include external buying center members in studies aimed at gaining a better understanding of the underlying processes which lead to the eventual purchase of a high technology product. A major contribution of our research is that we show how a key buying center member influences the structure of the internal and external buying center according to his/her prior experience, network tie strength, and job role. The influence of prior experience is particularly important but is mediated by the key buying center member's perception of the novelty and complexity of the purchase situation.