Important vendor factors in industrial and hospital organizations: A comparison

Abstract

INTRODUCTION It is often pointed out that purchasing processes and their dynamics have similar generic characterDuring the last few years organizational buying istics in diverse organizational settings of both cornbehavior has emerged as a major field of study, mercial and non-commercial sectors of the market Marketing academicians have formulated compreplace. Efficient organizational marketing depends hensive organizational buying behavior models on a clear understanding of organizational buying [1, 2] with the objectives of consolidating knowbehavior under diverse organizational settings. ledge, improving marketing practice and promoting Although the organizational buying process is research in new directions. In some of these writconceived as generic in nature, most research atings, the generic nature of organizational buying tention in this field is often devoted to organizabehavior and its implications for practice and retional buying in commercial sectors and more partisearch has been well recognized, cularly the industrial sector. Limited research atDespite the fact that most of the research on tention was devoted in the past to the various asindustrial buying behavior has been confined to pects of organizational buying in the non-commerthe purchase of tangible products in the commercial sector with perhaps the possible exception of cial sector, the fact remains that all formal organigovernment buying. One seldom finds research zations, such as business firms, governmental agendealing with comparisons of organizational buying cies, hospitals, educational institutions, and reliprocesses between commercial and non-commercial gious and political organizations must purchase sectors of the market place. Such comparative studgoods and services to be used in the conduct of ies would be significant from several points of view. their affairs [3]. First, during the post war years, the U.S. economy