Understanding organizational buying behavior is an area of social science
which continuously experiences increased interest as business competition
is more intense than ever. The interest radiates both from academia and the
business world. This Master's Thesis reports a study made for Ericsson
Enterprise AB, Sweden. It explores the buying behavior of small and medium
sized Swedish organizations and businesses in the context of buying a
communications solution. A communications solution is an assortment of
products and services that keep a business connected both internally and to
the outside world through for example telephony and e-mail. The study is
characterized as exploratory and descriptive as it tries to add to the
understanding of how buying actually takes place set in what is shown to be
a much unexplored context: the purchase of a communications solution.
In the constant strive for attaining and retaining market share, giants of
the telecommunications industry are currently intensifying their focus on
the smaller business and enterprise segment. This has increased the
interest to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of
organizational buying in smaller organizations and businesses. More
specifically searching for answers to questions such as who the key decider
is? Who are the influencers? What influences the choice of retailer? What
are the inherent needs of the small and medium sized business segment? What
weight is put on financial considerations of a potential purchase?
A multiple-case study was conducted with five cases - all organizations
situated in Stockholm, Sweden. Investigating the decision process of a
purchase and what people are involved it was found that the process is
often simplified compared to that found when studying larger organizations.
In addition to this, the number of people involved will also be fewer. It
is invariably the CEO who makes the final decision to buy, but under strong
influence from whoever has been left in charge of the project of finding a
new solution.
The main conclusion drawn from this study is that the buying behavior of
smaller Swedish organizations and businesses is characterized by an
informal internal atmosphere requiring a different approach from suppliers
than when dealing with larger enterprises. A potential supplier must be
able to understand the business environment in which an organization
operates ? view things from their perspective and understand their
problems. Through this, the benefits of a new solution will...