Applying pricing research in B2B financial service industries

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this research paper is to investigate the extent to which companies that operate in business-to-business (B2B) financial service markets adopt any form of pricing research along with the different pricing objectives that they pursue in comparison with companies that do not adopt such kind of research.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 143 companies operating in three different B2B financial service industries.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that companies that adopt any form of pricing research are mainly based on historical sales data and personal in-depth interviews. Moreover, they focus more on both company and market related pricing objectives than those companies that do not adopt such pricing research methods when setting their prices.Practical implicationsThe above findings indicate that the managers responsible for setting prices within their firms might have to gain a lot by adopting a research orientation when setting their prices, since such orientation may lead them to a more holistic approach regarding pricing decision-making by focusing on both company and market related issues.Originality/valueGiven the lack of similar studies in the existing B2B financial services literature, the value of the paper is that it represents one of the first attempts to empirically examine this issue.