Industrial buying behavior in Brazil

Abstract

Many firms in less developed countries (LDCs) make little use of available information when they are considering investing in new production technology. A very small number of alternative suppliers are generally considered and supplier evaluation is often perfunctory. A number of questions concerning the information on alternative suppliers are raised and answers were sought in a field study carried out in Brazil. The factors that influence the degree of search by managers for information on alternatives included the relative cost of the equipment, the familiarity of the buyer with the technology, the cost of acquiring the information, the available resources of the company, and the buyer's expectations concerning quality and price, Implications for industrial marketing in LDCs are discussed and suggestions are made concerning the assistance that LDC governments can provide to firms that import production technology from the industrialized countries.