Effects of accountability on symbolic information search and information analysis by organizational buyers

Article Abstract:

Most studies of the organizational buying process assume that buyers acquire and use information "prosocially" - to make better decisions and promote their company's welfare. The authors propose, however, that demands to account for their behavior causes organizational buyers to also gather and use information for political purposes - to protect their own self-interest. The authors present the results of an empirical study that investigates the extent to which four types of accountability - informal, official, process, and decision accountability - result in political (or symbolic) information search and prosocial information analysis by organizational buyers. Study findings suggest that buyers accountable to superiors and those accountable to subordinates or peers engage in more symbolic information search. Buyers accountable for their decision-making process analyze information more extensively. Surprisingly, buyers accountable for decision outcomes neither search for symbolic information nor analyze information more extensively. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Information management, Searching, Bibliographical, Bibliographic searching

---

Conflict resolutions in organizational buying centers

Article Abstract:

The major difference between industrial procurement and consumer buying is that industrial procurement is usually a group process. Consequently, a label for such a group can be helpful; the term buying center can be used. The term buying center refers to an ad hoc group of employees that represents the different units within the organization. Group decision-making with regard to buying evidences the tactics of problem-solving, persuasion, bargaining and politicking. These tactics are themselves affected by organizational culture, leadership styles found within the buying center; for example, an organization that encourages problem-solving behaviors will experience fewer conflicts within its buying center but more drawn out decision processes prior to purchases being made.

Consumption (Economics), Decision-making, Group, Group decision making

---

The purchasing agent: friend or foe to the salesperson?

Article Abstract:

This research investigates the links between the negotiation performance, personal characteristics, and aptitudes, for a sample of 460 purchasing agents. Negotiation performance, in the adversarial sense, and buyer empathy were not found to be important. Buyers who were motivated, satisfied and certain of management expectations performed best. These findings confirm earlier results by the same researchers. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Negotiation, Negotiations, Purchasing agents

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Australian Accountability. Information for the House
• Abstracts: Deductibility of S corporation losses often is needlessly restricted. Negotiating strategies when a client wants to sell a closely-held corporation
• Abstracts: Impact of country-of-origin cues on consumer judgments in multi-cue situations: a covariance analysis. Consumer attitudes toward Canadian-made versus imported products
• Abstracts: Consumer participation in the informal economy. Status of company usage of scanner based research

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.