MARKETING MASTERS

by Frederick E. Webster Jr. and Yoram Wind

A General Model forUnderstanding Organizational

Buying BehaviorFramework outlines the decision process in

an industrial context

I ndustrial and institutional mar-keters have often been urged tobase their strategies on carefulappraisal of buying behavior withinkey accounts and in principal mar-ket segments. When they search the avail-able literature on buyer behavior, howev-er, they find virtually exclusive emphasison consumers, not industrial buyers.

Research findings and theoretical dis-cussions about consumer behavior oftenhave little relevance for the industrialmarketer. This is due to several importantdifferences between the two purchaseprocesses.

Industrial buying takes place in thecontext of a formal organization infiu-enced by a budget, cost and profit consid-erations. Furthermore, organizational(i.e., industrial and institutional) buyingusually involves many people in the deci-sion process with complex interactionsamong people and among individual andorganizational goals.

The industrial marketer could find a.model of buyer behavior useful in identi-fying those key factors influencingresponse to marketing effort. It can helpthe marketer analyze available informa-tion about the market and identify the

EXECUTIVE/

n each issue q/'MARKETING MANAGEMENT we reprint animportant article from a past issue of one of our sister publications.

This article, published in the Journal of Marketing in April 1972,proves the old aphorism, "There is nothing as useful as a good theo-ry," according to its authors. "Basically," said Webster, "[the articlelprovided a vocabulary for thinking about the process of buyer deci-sion making and, thus, made a surprisingly durable contribution tothe conversation.''

need for additional information. Such amodel also could help specify targets formarketing effort, the kinds of informationneeded by various purchasing decisionmakers, and the criteria to make thesedecisions. A framework for analyzingorganizational buying behavior could aidin the design of marketing strategy.

The general model presented here canbe applied to all organizational buyingand suffers all the weaknesses of generalmodels. It does not describe a specificbuying situation in the richness of detailrequired to make a model operational,and it cannot be quantified.

However, generality offers a compen-sating set of benefits. The mode! presentsa comprehensive view of organizationalbuying that enables one to evaluate the rel-evance of specific variables and, thereby,permits greater insight into the basicprocesses of industrial buying behavior. Itidentifies the classes of variables that mustbe examined by any student of organiza-tional buying, practitioner or academician.

Although major scientific progress inthe study of organizational buying willcome only from a careful study of specif-ic relationships among a few variableswithin a given class, this general modelcan help to identify those variables thatshould be studied. It can be useful in gen-

52 Wima/SpRm 1996, VOL. 4, No. 4 MARKETING mmGEMEHJ

erating hypotheses and provides a frame-work for careful interpretation of researchresults that makes the researcher moresensitive to the complexities of theprocesses he is studying.

Traditional Views

T raditional views of organizationalbuying have lacked comprehensive-ness. The literature of economics,purchasing, and, to a limited degree, mar-keting has emphasized variables related tothe buying task itself and "rational" eco-nomic factors. In these economic views, theobjective of purchasing is to obtain theminimum price or the lowest total cost-in-use {as in the materials managementmodel). Some of the models focusing onthe buying task have emphasized factorsthat are not strictly economic, such as recip-rocal buying agreements, and other con-straints on the buyer, such as source loyalty.

Other traditional views of organization-al buying err in the opposite direction,emphasizing variables such as emotion,personal goals, and internal politics that areinvolved in the buying decision process butnot related to the goals of the buying task.

This "nontask" emphasis is seen inmodels that emphasize the purchasingagent's interest in obtaining personalfavors, in enhancing his own ego, or inreducing perceived risk. Other nontaskmodels have emphasized buyer-salesmaninterpersonal interaction and the multiplerelationships between individualsinvolved in the buying process over time.

The ways in which purchasing agentsattempt to expand their influence over thebuying decision have also received care-ful study. These views have contributedto an understanding of the buyingprocess, hut none of them is complete. Tothe extent that these models leave outtask or nontask variables, they offerincomplete guidelines for the industrialmarket strategist and researcher. The ten-dency in interpreting research resultsbased on these simple models is tooveremphasize the importance of somevariables and to understate or ignore theimportance of others.

Four Classes of Variables

The fundamental assertion of ourmore comprehensive model is thatorganizational buying is a deci-sion-making process carried out by indi-viduals, in interaction with other people,and within the context of a formal organi-zation. The organization, in turn, is influ-

EXHIBIT 1

Classification and examples of variables influencingorganizational buying decisions

Individual

Social

Organizational

Environmental

Desire to obtainlowest prices

Meetings to setspecifications

Policy regardinglocal supplierpreference

Anticipatedchanges in prices

Personal valuesand needs

Informal, off-the-job interactionsMethods ofpersonnelevaluation

Political climatein an election year

enced by a variety of forces in the envi-ronment. Thus, the four classes of vari-ables determining organizational buyingbehavior are individual, social, organiza-tional, and environmental.

Within each class, there are two broadcategories of variables: Those directlyrelated to the buying problem, called taskvariables, and those that extend beyondthe buying problem, called nontask vari-ables. This classification of variables isillustrated in Exhibit 1.

The distinction between task and non-task variables applies to all of the classesand subclasses of variables. It is seldompossible to identify a given set of variablesas exclusively task or nontask; rather, anygiven set of variables will have both taskand nontask dimensions, although onedimension might predominate.

For example, motives will inevitablyhave both dimensionsthose relatingdirectly to the buying problem to be solvedand those primarily concerned with person-al goals. These motives overlap in manyimportant respects and need not conflict; astrong sense of personal involvement cancreate more effective buying decisionsfrom an organizational standpoint.

Organizational buying behavior is acomplex process (rather than a single,instantaneous act) and involves manypersons, multiple goals, and potentiallyconflicting decision criteria. It often takesplace over an extended period of time,requires information from many sources,and encompasses many interorganization-al relationships.

The organizational buying process is aform of problem-solving, and a buying

situation is created when someone in theorganization perceives a problem-a dis-crepancy between a desired outcome andthe present situation^that can potentiallybe solved through some buying action.Organizational buying behavior includesall activities of organizational membersas they define a buying situation andidentify, evaluate, and choose amongalternative brands and .suppliers.

The buying center includes all mem-bers of the organization who are involvedin that process. The roles involved arethose of user, influencer, decider, buyer,and gatekeeper (who controls the flow ofinformation into the buying center). Mem-bers of the buying center are motivated bya complex interaction of individual andorganizational goals. Their relationshipswith one another involve all the complexi-ties of interpersonal interactions.

The formal organization exerts itsinfluence on the buying center throughthe subsystems of tasks, structure (com-munication, authority, status, rewards,and work flow), technology, and people.Finally, the entire organization is embed-ded in a set of environmental influencesincluding economic, technological, phys-ical, political, legal, and cultural forces.An overview of the model and a diagram-matic presentation of the relationshipsamong these variables are given inFxhibit 2 on page 54.

Environmental InfluencesEnvironmental influences are subtle

and pervasive as well as difficult to identi-fy and measure. They influence the buyingprocess by providing information as well

nARKETINGMAmGEMENJ WIHM/SPMG 1996, VOL. 4, No. 4 53

EXHIBIT 2

A model of organizational buying behaviorf I. The environment (environmental determinants of buying behavior)

Phj^ical env. Economic env. Legal env.Technological env. Political env. Cultural env.

rs Covj^oment Lab

Information about suppliers(marketing communications)

Availability ofgoods and services

General businessconditions

II. The Organization (organizational determinants of buying behavior)The organizational climate: physical, technological, economic, cultural

Organizationalstructure

Organization of thebuying center and

the purchasingLunction

Organizationalgoals & tasks

Oi^anizationalactors

Members of thebuying center, >

Irganizationaltecbnology

Technology relevantaffifor purchasing

Technologicalconstraints &technoliigyavailable tothe group

III. The Buying Center(interpersonal determinants of buying behavior)

Task Activities Interactions Sentiments Nontask Activities Interactions Sentiments

IV. The Individual ParticipantsMotivation, cognitive stmcture, personality, learning process, perceived roles

Buying decision process2. Croup

decisionmakingunit

as constraints and opportunities. Environ-mental influences include physical (geo-graphic, climate, or ecological), techno-logical, economic, political, legal, and cul-tural factors.

These influences are exerted through avariety of institutions including businessfirms (suppliers, competitors, and cus-tomers), governments, trade unions,political parties, educational and medicalinstitutions, trade associations, and pro-fessional groups. The nature ofthe.seinstitutional forms will vary significantlyfrom one country to another, and suchdifferences are critical to the planning ofmultinational marketing strategies.

As the model shows, environmental

influences have their impact in four dis-tinct ways. First, they define the availabil-ity of goods and services. This functionreflects especially the influence of physi-cal, technological, and economic factors.

Second, they define the general busi-ness conditions facing the buying organi-zation including the rate of economicgrowth, the level of national income,interest rates, and unemployment. Eco-nomic and political forces are the domi-nant influences on general business con-ditions. Some of these forces, such aseconomic factors, are predominantly (butnot exclusively) task variables whereasothers, such as political variables, may bemore heavily nontask in nature.

Third, environmental factors determinethe values and norms guiding interorgani-zational and interpersonal relationshipsbetween buyers and sellers as well asamong competitors, and between buyingorganizations and other institutions suchas governments and trade associations.Such values and norms may be eodifiedinto laws, or they may be implicit. Cultur-al, social, legal, and political forces are thedominant sources of values and norms.

Finally, environmental forces influ-ence the information flow into the buyingorganization. Most important here is theflow of marketing communications frompotential suppliers, through the massmedia and through other personai andimpersonal channels. Information flowsreflect a variety of physical, technologi-cal, economic, and cultural factors.

The marketing strategist, whose cus-tomers are organizations, must carefullyappraise each set of environmental fac-tors and identify and analyze the institu-tions that exert those influences in eachof the market segments served. This kindof analysis is especially important inentering new markets.

For example, economic factors, asrevealed in measures of general businessconditions, must be continually assessedwhere market prices fluctuate and buyersmake decisions to build or reduce inven-tories based on price expectations. Simi-larly, the impact of technological changein markets served must be considered asthe basis for strategic decisions in theareas of product policy and promotion.

The necessity of analyzing institutionalforms is most readily apparent when mar-kets are multinational in scope and requirespeciflc consideration of government poli-cies and trade union influences. Environ-mental factors are important determinantsof organizational buying behavior, butthey can be so basie and pervasive that itis easyand dangerou.sto overlookthem in analyzing the market.

Organizational InfluencesOrganizational factors cause individ-

ual decision makers to act differentlythan they would if they were functioningalone or in a different organization. Orga-nizational buying behavior is motivatedand directed by the organization's goalsand is constrained by its financial, tech-nological, and human resources. Thisclass of variables is primarily task-relat-ed. For understanding the influence of theformal organization on the buying

54 ]m, Voi 4, No. 4 MARKETING MmSEMENJ

process, Harold J. Leavitt's 1964 classifi-cation of variables is most helpful.According to this scheme, organizationsare multivariate systems comprising foursets of interacting variables:

Tasksthe work to be performed inaccomplishing the objectives of the orga-nization.

Structuresubsystems of communica-tion, authority, status, rewards, and workflow.

Technologyproblem-solving inven-tions used by the firm including plant andequipment and programs for organizingand managing work.

Peoplethe actors in the system.

Each of these subsystems interactswith, and is dependent upon, the othersfor its functioning. Together, these fourinteracting sets of factors defme the infor-mation, expectations, goals, attitudes, andassumptions used by each of the individ-ual actors in their decision making.

Our general model defines four dis-tinct but interrelated sets of variables thatmust be carefully considered in the devel-opment of marketing strategies designedto influence that process: buying tasks,organizational structure, buying technolo-gy, and the buying center.

Buying tasks. This subset of organiza-tional tasks and goals that evolves fromthe definition of a buying situation. Theseare pure task variables by defmition. Thespecific tasks that must be performed tosolve the buying problem can be definedas five stages in the buying decisionprocess: (1) identification of need; (2)establishment of specifications; (3) identi-fication of alternatives; (4) evaluation ofalternatives; and (5) selection of suppliers.

Buying tasks can be further definedaccording to four dimensions:

The organizational purpose served-^e.g., whether the reason for buying is tofacilitate production, or for resale, or tobe consumed in the performance of otherorganizational functions.

The nature of demand, especiallywhether demand for the product is gener-ated within the buying organization or byforces outside of the organization (i.e.,"derived" demand) as well as other char-

acteristics of the demand pattern such asseasonal and cyclical fluctuations.

The extent of programmingi.e., thedegree of routinization at the five stagesof the decision process.

The degree of decentralization and theextent to which buying authority has beendelegated to operating levels in the orga-nization.

Each of these four dimensions influ-ences the nature of the organizationalbuying process and must be considered inappraising market opportunities. At eachof the five stages of the decision process,different members of the buying centermay be involved, different decision crite-ria are employed, and different informa-tion sources may become more or less rel-evant.

Marketing strategies must be adjustedaccordingly. There are rich researchopportunities in defining the influence ofdifferent members of the buying center atvarious stages of the buying process.

Organizational structure. The formalorganizational structure consists of sub-systems of communication, authority, sta-tus, rewards, and work flowall of whichhave important task and nontask dimen-sions. Each of these subsystems deservescareful study by researchers interested inorganizational buying. The marketing lit-erature does not include studies in thisarea. A beginning might be several rigor-ous observational or case studies.

The communication subsystem per-forms four essential functions: (1) infor-mation; (2) command and instruction; (3)influence and persuasion; and (4) integra-tion. The marketer must understand howthe communication system in customerorganizations informs the members of thebuying center about buying problems,evaluation criteria (both task- and non-task-related), and alternative sources ofsupply. He must appraise how commandsand instructions (mostly task-related) flowthrough the hierarchy defining the discre-tion and latitude of individual actors.

The pattern of influence and persuasion(heavily nontask in nature) defines thenature of interpersonal interactions withinthe buying center. Organizational membersmay differ in the extent to which they prefereither commands and instructions or moresubtle influence and persuasion to guide theactions of subordinates. The integrative

functions of communication become criticalin coordinating the functioning of the buy-ing center and may be one of the primaryroles of the purchasing manager.

The authority subsystem defines thepower of organizational actors to judge,command, or otherwise act to influencethe behavior of others along both taskand nontask dimensions. No factor ismore critical in understanding the organi-zational buying process because theauthority structure determines who setsgoals and who evaluates (and thereforedetermines rewards for) organizationalperformance. The authority structureinteracts with the communication struc-ture to determine the degree of decentral-ization in the decision process.

The status system is reflected in theorganizational chart and defines the hierar-chical structure of the formal organization.Tt also expresses itself in an informal struc-ture. Both the formal and informal organi-zation define each individual's position ina hierarchy with respect to other individu-als. Job descriptions define positions with-in the organization and the associateddimensions of responsibility and authority.

Knowing the responsibility, authority,and the position in the internal statushierarchy of each member of the buyingcenter is a necessary basis for developingan account strategy for the organizationalcustomer. A complete theory of organiza-tional buying will permit accurate predic-tions of an organizational actor's influ-ence based upon his position and role.

The reward system defines the payoffsto the individual decision maker. It isintimately related to the authority systemwhich determines the responsibilities ororganizational actors for evaluating otherindividuals. Here is the mechanism forrelating organizational task accomplish-ment to individual nontask objectives.

Persons join organizations in anticipa-tion of the rewards given by the organiza-tion and agree to work toward organiza-tional objectives in return for thoserewards. A careful analysis of the formaland social reward structure of the organi-zation as it affects and is perceived by themembers of the buying center can be mosthelpful in predicting their response to mar-keting effort. The key fact is that peoplework for organizations to earn rewardsrelated to personal goals, both economicand noneconomic.

Every buying organization developstask-related procedures for managing theflow of paperwork, samples, and other

MARKETING MAHAGEMEHJ 1996, VOL. 4, No. 4 55

items involved in the buying decisionprocess. The flow of paperwork also hasnontask aspects that reflect the composi-tion of the buying center as well as theauthority and communication subsystemsof an organizational structure.

Buying technology. Technology influ-ences both what is bought and the natureof the organizational buying processitself. In the latter respect, technologydefines the management and informationsystems that are involved in the buyingdecision process, such as computers andmanagement science approaches to suchaspects of buying as "make or buy"analysis.

More obviously, technology definesthe plant and equipment of the organiza-tion, and these, in tnrn, place significantconstraints upon the alternative buyingactions available to the organization. It isa common failing of industrial marketingstrategy, especially for new product intro-ductions, to underestimate the demandsthat will be placed on existing technologyin customer organizations. A new materi-al, for example, may require new dies andmixing equipment, new skills of produc-tion personnel, and substantial changes inmethods of production.

Buying center. The buying center is asubset of the organizational actors, thelast of the four sets of variables in theLeavitt scheme. The buying center wasearlier defined as consisting of five roles:users, intiuencers, deciders, buyers, andgatekeepers. Since people operate as partof the total organization, the behavior ofmembers of the buying center reflects theinfluence of others as well as the effect ofthe buying task, the organizational struc-ture, and technology.

This interaction leads to unique buyingbehavior in each customer organization.The marketing strategist who wishes toinfluence the organizational buyingprocess must, therefore, defme and under-stand the operation of these four sets oforganizational variablestasks, structure,technology, and actorsin each organiza-tion he is trying to influence.

The foregoing comments provide onlythe skeleton of an analytical structure forconsidering each of these factors and itsimplications for marketing action in a spe-cific buying situation. The marketer'sproblem is to define the locus of buyingresponsibility within the customer organi-zation, to define the composition of the

buying center, and to understand thestructure of roles and authority within thebuying center.

Social InfluencesThe framework for understanding the

buying decision process must identify andrelate three classes of variables involvedin group functioning in the buying center.First, the various roles in the buying cen-ter must be identified. Second, the vari-ables relating to interpersonal (dyadic)interaction between persons in the buyingcenter and between members of the buy-ing center and "outsiders" such as ven-dors' salesmen must be identified. Third,the dimensions of the functioning of thegroup as a whole must be considered.

Within the organization as a wholeonly a subset of organizational actors isactually involved in a buying situation.The buying center includes five roles:

Usersthose members of the organiza-tion who use the purchased products andservices.

Buyersthose with formal responsibili-ty and authority for contracting with sup-pliers.

Influencersthose who influence thedecision process directly or indirectly byproviding information and criteria forevaluating alternative buying actions.

Decidersthose with authority tochoose among alternative buying actions.

Gatekeepersthose who control theflow of information (and materials) intothe buying center.

Several individuals may occupy thesame role; e.g., there may be several influ-encers. Also, one individual may occupymore than one role; e.g., the purchasingagent is often both buyer and gatekeeper.

To understand interpersonal interactionwithin the buying center, it is useful toconsider three aspects of role perfor-mance: (I) role expectations (prescriptionsand prohibitions for the behavior of theperson occupying the role and for thebehavior of other persons toward a givenrole); (2) roic behavior (actual behavior inthe role); and (3) role relationships (themultiple and reciprocal relationshipsamong members of the group). Together,these three variables defme the individ-ual's role set.

An awareness of each of these dimen-sions is necessary for the salesman respon-sible for contacting the various membersof the buying center. It is especiallyimportant to understand how each memberexpects the salesman to behave towardhim and the important ongoing relation-ships among roles in the buying center.

As illustrated in the model, the natureof group functioning is influenced by fiveclasses of variables: the individual mem-bers' goals and personal characteristics,the nature of leadership within the group,the structure of the group, the tasks per-formed by the group, and external (orga-nizational and environmental) influences.

Group processes involve not onlyactivities but also interactions and senti-ments among members, which have bothtask and nontask dimensions. Finally, theoutput of the group is not only a task-ori-ented problem solution (a buying action)but also nontask satisfaction and growthfor the group and its members.

Tn analyzing the functioning of the buy-ing center, it helps to focus attention on thebuyer role, primarily because a member ofthe purchasing department is most oftenthe marketer's primary contact point withthe organization. Buyers often have author-ity for [nanaging the contacts of supplierswith other organizational actors, and thusaTso perform the "gatekeeper" function.

While the buyer's authority for selec-tion of suppliers may be seriously con-strained by decisions at earlier stages of thedecision process (especially the develop-ment of specifications), he has responsibili-ty for the terminal stages of the process. Tnother words, the buyer (or purchasingagent) is, in most cases, the final decisionmaker and the target of influence attemptsby other members of the buying center.

Tn performing their task, purchasingagents use a variety of tactics to enhancetheir power that vary with the specificproblems, the conditions of the organiza-tion, and the purchasing agent's personal-ity. The tactics used by purchasing agentsto influence their relationships with otherdepartments can be viewed as a specialcase of the more general phenomenon of"lateral" relationships in formal organiza-tionsthose among members of approxi-mately equal status in the formal organi-zational hierarchy.

These include rule-oriented tactics(e.g., appealing to the boss for theenforcement of organizational policy;appealing to rules and formal statementsof authority); rule-evading tactics (e.g..

56 WmER/Spum 1996, Voi. 4, Ho. 4

compliance with requests from users thatviolate organizational policies); personal-political tactics (e.g., reliance on informalrelationships and friendships to get deci-sions made and an exchange of favorswith other members of the buying cen-ter); educational tactics (e.g., persuadingother members of the organization tothink in purchasing terms and to recog-nize the importance and potential contri-bution of the purchasing function); andfinally, organizational-Jnteractional tac-tics (e.g., change the formal organization-al structure and the pattern of reportingrelationships and information flows).

Ambitious buyers who wish to extendthe scope of their influence will adoptcertain tactics and engage in bargainingactivities in an attempt to become moreinfluential at earlier stages of the buyingprocess. These tactics or bargainingstrategies define the nature of the buyer'srelationships with others of equal organi-zational status and structure the social sit-uation that the potential supplier mustfaee in dealing with the buying organiza-tion. An understanding of the nature ofinterpersonal relationships in the buyingorganization is an important basis for thedevelopment of marketing strategy.

The Influence of the IndividualIn the final analysis, all organizational

buying behavior is individual behavior.Only the individual as an individual or as amember of a group can define and analyzebuying situations, decide, and act. In thisbehavior, the individual is motivated by acomplex combination of personal andorganizational objectives, constrained bypolicies and Information filtered throughthe formal organization, and influenced byother members of the buying center.

The individual is at the center of thebuying process, operating within the buy-ing center that is, in turn, bounded by theformal organization which is likewiseembedded in the influences of the broad-er environment. It is the speeific individ-ual who is the target for marketingefforts, not the abstract organization.

The organizational buyer's personali-ty, perceived role set, motivation, cogni-tion, and learning are the basic psycho-logical processes that affect his responseto the buying situation and marketingstimuli provided by potential vendors.Similar to consumer markets, it is impor-tant to understand the organizationalbuyer's psychological characteristics andespecially his predispositions, preference

structure, and decision model as the basisfor marketing strategy decisions.

Some initial attempts to develop cate-gories of buying decision makers accord-ing to characteristic decision styles ("nor-mative" and "conservative") have beenreported. Cultural, organizational, andsocial factors are important influences onthe individual and are reflected in his pre-vious experiences, awareness of, attitudeand preference toward particular vendorsand products and his particular buyingdecision models.

The organizational buyer can, there-fore, be viewed as a eonstrained decisionmaker. Although the basic mental process-es of motivation, cognition, and learningas well as the buyer's personality, per-ceived role set, preference structure, anddecision model are uniquely individual;they are influenced by the context of inter-personal and organizational influenceswithin which the individual is embedded.

The organizational buyer is motivatedby a complex combination of individualand organizational objectives and isdependent upon others for the satisfactionof these needs in several ways. Theseother people define the role expectationsfor the individual, they determine thepayoffs he is to receive for his perfor-mance, they influence the definition ofthe goals to be pursued in the buyingdecision, and they provide informationwith which the individual attempts toevaluate risks and come to a decision.

Task and nontask motives. Only rarelycan the organizational buyer let purely per-sonal considerations influence his buyingdecisions. In a situation where "all otherthings are equal," the individual may beable to apply strictly personal (nontask)criteria when making his final decision. Inthe unlikely event that two or more poten-tial vendors offer products of comparablequality and service at a comparable price,then the organizational buyer may be moti-vated by purely personal, nontask variablessuch as his personal preferences for dealingwith a particular salesman, or some specialfavor or gift available from the supplier.

The organizational buyer's motivationhas both task and nontask dimensions.Task-related motives relate to the specificbuying problem to be solved and involvethe general criteria of buying "the rightquality in the right quantity at the rightprice for delivery at the right time fromthe right source." Of course, what is"right" is a difficult question, especially

to the extent that important buying influ-eneers have conflicting needs and criteriafor evaluating the buyer's performance.

Nontask-related motives may often bemore important, although there is fre-quently a rather direct relationshipbetween task and nontask motives. Forexample, the buyer's desire for promo-tion (a nontask motive) can significantlyinfluence his task performance. In otherwords, there is no necessary conflictbetween task and nontask motives and, infact, the pursuit of nontask objectives canenhance the attainment of task objectives.

Broadly speaking, nontask motivescan be placed into two categories:achievement motives and risk-reductionmotives. Achievement motives are thoserelated to personal advancement andrecognition. Risk-reduction motives arerelated, but somewhat less obvious, andprovide a critical link between the indi-vidual and the organizational decision-making process. This is also a key com-ponent of the behavioral theory of thefirm, in which uncertainty avoidance is akey motivator of organizational actors.

The individual's perception of risk in adecision situation is a function of uncer-tainty (in the sense of a probabilisticassessment) and of the value of variousoutcomes. Three kinds of uncertainty aresignificant: Uncertainty about availablealternatives; uncertainty about the out-comes associated with various alterna-tives; and uncertainty about the way rele-vant other persons will react to variousoutcomes. This uncertainty about the reac-tion of other persons may be due toincomplete information about their goalsor about how an outcome will be evaluat-ed and rewarded.

Information-gathering is the mostobvious tactic for reducing uncertainty,while decision avoidance and lowering ofgoals are means of reducing the value ofoutcomes. A preference for the status quois perhaps the most common mode of riskreduction because it removes uncertaintyand minimizes the possibility of negativeoutcomes. This is one explanation for thelarge amount of source loyalty found inorganizational buying and is consistentwith the "satisficing" postulate of thebehavioral theory of the firm.

The individual determinants of organi-zational buyer behavior and the tacticsbuyers are likely to use in their dealingswith potential vendors must be clearlyunderstood by those who want to affecttheir behavior. WJ!IM

MARKETING mmemm Wimii/SpmGl996,VoL4Jo.4S7