دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی ارزیابی نقش احساسات در تصمیم گیری کسب و کار به کسب و کار - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – Emotions in business-to-business (B2B) interactions are relatively unexplored when compared with business-to customer (B2C) industry wherein sufficient evidence implicating the role of emotions in decision-making is available. This study aims to explore the role of emotions in B2B decision-making, and a customer experience model is suggested for the B2B industry. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative research methodology using structured and semistructured interviews along with a repertory grid technique was followed during the study. Purposive sampling was done to identify respondents who were involved in the vendor choice process either as a buyer or a seller in their respective organizations. Findings – Exploratory research conducted during this study supports the presence of five dimensions of customer experience – sensory, emotional, relational, behavioural and intellectual – in a B2B context. The study further indicates that the experiential value for B2B decision-making is derived from functional, symbolic, emotional and cost values which are assessed by the buyer during their interaction with the product or the service ecosystem and has an impact on the purchase intentions of an industrial buyer. Originality/value – This paper identifies the role of specific customer experience dimensions in a B2B environment and proposes the role and mechanism of emotional factors affecting the decision-making process in B2B exchange.

Academic contributions

Extensive literature available on organizational buying behaviour primarily focusses on the buying process adopted in the industry, people involved in the buying centre, types of purchases, conflicts and power dynamics in the buying centre and the vendor–buyer relationships. While various viewpoints have been integrated into different organizational buying behaviour models in the past, a customer experience model highlighting the experiential value in an organizational set-up is still unexplored. This study attempts to add to the existing knowledge of customer experience by exploring its dimensions and bridging all known dimensions to build a more comprehensive customer experience model, especially for the B2B industry. This study identifies the role of specific customer experience dimensions in the B2B environment and proposes the role and mechanism of emotional factors affecting the decision-making process in B2B exchange. The B2B product evaluation has often been considered a rational evaluation. Preliminary investigations during this study strongly support the fact that emotional factors influence decision-making in B2B markets as well. This study also demonstrates the use of the repertory grid technique to identify constructs relevant to customer experience and maps them to the experience and value dimensions.