B2B Marketing, Group 4, Sec-B, PGP09

Assignment 1
Submitted by: Group 4

Various business/organization buying behavior model(s) and their comparison

with Webster and Wind Model

A. Webster and Wind Model of Organisational Buying Behaviour

VARIABLES TASK NON-TASK

Individual Desire to obtain lowest Anticipated changes in prices
prices
Social Meetings to set Informal, off-the- job interactions
specifications
Organizational Policy regarding local Methods of personnel evaluation
supplier preference
Environmental Anticipated changes in Political climate in an election year
prices

 Webster and Wind (1972) developed a model which outlines four classes of factors
that determine industrial buying behaviour.

 The factors are: individual, social, organizational and environmental factors.

 They further broadly classified these factors as Task and Non-Task factors.

 Task factors or economic factor models view the organizational buyer as an

economic man (that is to say, a rational buyer).

 Non-task models emphasize the role of personal motive in the buying process –
they introduce the human elements into organized industrial buying.

 This is a complex model developed by F.E. Webster and Y. Wind, as an attempt

to explain the multifaceted nature of organizational buying behaviour.

 The organizational determinant is based on Harold Leavitt’s four elements of

organization buying viz., people, technology, structure and task.

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B. The Robinson, Faris and Wind model

This model is one of the earliest and most widely used model in categorizing and
explaining organizational buyer behaviour differences.

The model suggests that the industrial buying process is a series of stages (called buy
phases) which may vary depending on which buying situation (called classes) the
particular buying firm is confronted with.

The model views organizational buying behaviour as depending on the amount of

experience the buyer has with product class, the amount of information sought and
the time spent on the decision.

A cross-tabulation of the phases with the buy classes result in a Buy-Grid-framework.

BUYPHASES BUYING SITUATION

New Task Modified Rebuy Straight Rebuy

1. Problem Recognition YES YES NO
2. Need Description YES YES NO
3. Product Specification YES YES NO
4. Supplier Search YES YES / MAY BE NO / MAY BE
5. Proposal Solicitation YES YES NO / MAY BE
6. Supplier Selection YES YES NO/ MAY BE
7. Order – Routine Selection YES YES YES
8. Post Purchase Review YES YES YES

C. The Sheth interactive model

This model concentrates on information search and acknowledges that the expectations
of the buying centre (purchasing agents, engineers, users and others, who are directly
involved in that act of purchasing), can be influenced by their experience.

In developing his model, Sheth divided organizational buyer behaviour into three
distinct aspects:

(i) The psychological world of the individual involved in organizational buying. This
aspect recognizes the fact that purchase decision in an organization is not
made by a single individual, but by members of different departments and that
the psychological make-up of the decision makers is critical.

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(ii) The condition which precipitates joint decision making. Not all decisions
are made jointly. The model gives six factors which determine whether a
specific buying decision will be joint or autonomous. Three of these factors are
related to the characteristics of the product or service and the other three are
related to the characteristics of the buyer organization.

(iii) The Process of Joint Decision Making: The Sheth interactive model outlined
the process of joint decision making to include the following steps: (a) Initiation
of the decision to buy; (b) Gathering of information; (c) Evaluation of alternative
suppliers, and (d) Resolution of conflict among the parties who must jointly
decide.

D. The Nelson box model

This model combines elements of organizational buyer behaviour with those of

consumer behaviour.

The model is built around two important assumptions:

(i) That decisions at different levels of the organization neither always involve the
same individuals nor identical work.
(ii) That decision taken at one level forms the basis for all subsequent decision.

Nelson model describes four levels of decision making in an organization. They are:

(a) The general buying decision which includes the decision to initiate a project. It
may contain the establishment of a new building, new product, etc.
(b) The concrete buying decision which comprise selection of a definite project,
including the objectives, and project specifications.
(c) The decision which is concerned with the most appropriate suppliers/vendors
and products.
(d) The technical buying decision which involves decisions related to the actual
mechanics of transportation, drawing up of contracts, final price and payment
negotiations and the stipulation of other details.

It is worthy of note that the Nelson model also captures the individuals, social,
organizational and environmental factors as well as the task and non-task factors
that influence organizational buying behaviour.

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