Preferences, intentions, and behavior of organizational buyers under different reward conditions

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the impact of reward and measurement systems relative to organizational buying behavior. Practicing industrial buyers participated in an experiment designed to test the theoretical hypothesis that buying-process participants will prefer, intend to select, and choose those vendors that will allow them to achieve organizationally mediated rewards regardless of corporate policy. To operationalize the experimental design, a buying-game booklet, incorporating a descriptive purchasing scenario and five buying tasks (trials), was used. A total of 44 industrial buyers, representing 16 organizations affiliated with a regional purchasing management association, participated in the study. The results support the proposition that organizational buying behavior is influenced by the reward and measurement system existing in the organization. Specifically, subjects preferred, intended to select, and chose vendors that would allow them to achieve organizationally mediated rewards.