An Analysis of how today’s B2B Buying Behaviour went from rational decision making to mindful consumption

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to determine the buying behaviour of Business-to-Business companies, to identify what the driving forces are that leads to making buying decisions and ultimately how the B2B buying behaviour changed from rational decision-making to mindful consumption. In order to identify the B2B buying behaviour, two sectors, retail and logistics, were thoroughly investigated through conducting a multiple-case analysis, comparing the two sectors and identifying the differences and similarities in purchasing behaviour. The findings of the literature review showed that today’s B2B buyer is equipped with fully new character traits, making him unrecognisable compared to his predecessors. The new and modern B2B buyer is always on the go, making decisions based on his own benefits and needs and is overly informed due to the abundance of information available. Furthermore, he is actively trying to avoid salespeople, operates autonomously, always keeps his options open and is extremely tech-savvy. Further findings emerged through the multiple-case analysis, in which five retail and five logistics case were analysed, with the goal of determining their buying behaviour and filtering the most important selection criteria when purchasing. The analysis also provided a base for coding the most significant selection criteria for B2B retailers and logistics providers, visualising them in a table where correlations can be seen. The results reveal that comparing retail with logistics shows strong interconnections amongst the industries, as well as some differences. Each sector determined selection criteria applicable only to their specific industry, however also criteria that they have in common and criteria that demonstrates differences. The study found that similarities can be seen in rational criteria such as price/costs, product quality, delivery and reliability. These criteria undergo a serious evaluation and consideration process before a purchasing decision has been confirmed. Furthermore, differences were also identified, stemming mainly from the fact that retailers purchase or produce goods, while logistics providers offer intangible goods and only acquire thirdparty logistics providers to outsource some of their daily tasks. Lastly, some of the logistics cases have stated that they are operating under the principles of just-in-time (JIT), however none of the retailers do, let alone have mentioned it. The limitations of this study include the methodology, as secondary sources laid the foundation for the multiple-case analysis, resulting in not having aligned focuses with the used sources. Also, the findings cannot be generalised, as the focal point was placed on two specific industries, instead of the broad generality. However, the results contribute to further closing this research gap, provides knowledge for the world of Academia, as it can be used as learning material and acts as a foundation for further expanding this research.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	Peter Hutterer (Supervisor)