Människan och våglänken : Fem fallstudier om industriellt köpbeteende i svensk skogsindustri

Sammanfattning: Industrial buying behavior can be described as the process that occurs when an organization discovers a need until the product or service is ordered. Understanding of the customers buying behavior is a crucial factor in the increasingly competitive business environment and can provide many benefits in a marketing perspective. Understanding the customers buying behavior brings answer to questions about what the customer really wants, how they want it, and why. Understanding the customer buying behavior can also contribute with identification of the most appropriate approach that should be used in marketing towards organizations. Much of the research that has been conducted in industrial buying behavior have focused on establishing a general understanding, but with absence of clear evidence whether it is applicable in all line of businesses. One such business area is the Swedish forest industry. Therefore, this study has aimed to research the industrial buying behavior in the forest industry where differences and similarities are investigated, but also to characterize the specific buying behavior in this area of research. Collection of data have been conducted by case studies in which five small and middle size organizations were interviewed regarding their procurement of crane scales (a link assembled on the crane which weights each timber while loading the lorry). Areas that have been investigated are the process between what triggers the need of a product and the following phases towards the buying decision, the buying situation, and, the people who are involved in the buying decision and how they interact and influence each other. The findings suggest that previous research is applicable in the Swedish forest industry even though some models are better suited for larger enterprises. Research regarding influence among members of the buying unit were more complicated than it was expected to be. Finally, this study contributes with practical implications and clear guidelines where marketing activities are best executed for organizations in the Swedish forest industry that are in either new task-, or rebuy situations.