Do Promises Really Win Compliances in Purchasing Decision-Making?

Abstract

The author follows interpersonal viewpoint and focus on promises as an influence strategy used in buying centers. Responses in Taiwan are collected and used from a survey of 208 purchase decisions in a LISREL model linking source/target characteristics, the manifest influence, and the choice of promises. Support is found for hypothetically positive effects of the reward power and the source's personal reason to influence on the utilization of promises. By contrast, the source's organizational level and the target's dependence on the source showed no impact on this influence tactic. The use of promises appears ineffective in changing a target's behaviors and opinions in buying centers. The target's dependence on the source, however, is found to be the leading role in winning compliances in buying centers. As predicted, our results demonstrated the positive relationship between the target's status and personal motives to exercise influence strategies. Counter to our expectations, the target's status appeared to increase slightly the likelihood of promises in the process of purchasing decision-making, and this factor, together with reward power, were believed to be the leading roles of forming promises by statistics. On the basis of these findings, the author identifies implications for the impact that structural changes within dyadic relationship can have on the choice of promises.