The opportunities and costs of highly involved organizational buyers

This research investigates the impact of an organizational buyer's product involvement on the customer firm's and supplier's financial outcomes. The results suggest that highly involved organizational buyers are willing to pay more, which benefits the supplier, but they are also perceived by the supplier as having greater expertise in negotiations, which benefits the customer. In Study 1, the authors examine the effects of buyer product involvement using a survey of organizational buyers matched with profit data from their supplier. The findings suggest that the prevailing mechanism that drives the effects of buyer product involvement is contingent upon different customer and supplier levers. Study 2 examines the theorized mechanisms via a second survey and an experiment. This research contributes to literatures on buying and negotiations by revealing the importance of considering the potential effects of a buyer's product involvement. Suppliers can leverage a more highly involved buyer by developing strong connections with the focal product; customers should encourage their buyers to be highly involved and leverage their knowledge of the market but limit their influence within the customer firm.

Automated summary

This research examines the impact of product involvement of organizational buyers on the financial outcomes of customer firms and suppliers. The results indicate that highly involved buyers are willing to pay more, benefiting the supplier, and are perceived as having greater negotiation expertise, benefiting the customer. The study reveals the importance of considering a buyer's product involvement and provides insights for suppliers and customers on leveraging highly involved buyers.