Consumer and industrial buying behaviour: theories and models
Buyers move from need recognition to post-purchase feelings. Models by Nicosia, Howard-Sheth and EKB explain consumers; Webster-Wind, Sheth and the buygrid explain organisational buying.
Consumer buying decision process
Low-involvement, routine purchases may skip stages.
Classic buyer behaviour models
| Model | Author(s) and year | Key idea |
|---|---|---|
| Economic (Marshallian) | Alfred Marshall; listed in Kotler (1965) | A rational buyer maximises utility |
| Learning (Pavlovian) | Ivan Pavlov | Drive, cue, response, reinforcement |
| Psychoanalytic (Freudian) | Sigmund Freud | Hidden motives: id, ego, superego |
| Sociological (Veblenian) | Thorstein Veblen | Social influence; conspicuous consumption |
| Organisational (Hobbesian) | Kotler (1965), after Hobbes | The organisational buyer balances company goals and personal gain |
| Nicosia model | Francesco Nicosia, 1966 | Four fields link the firm's message, the consumer's attitude, search, purchase and feedback |
| Howard-Sheth model | John Howard and Jagdish Sheth, 1969 | Inputs → perceptual and learning constructs → outputs; exogenous variables; extensive, limited and routinised problem solving |
| EKB / EBM model | Engel, Kollat and Blackwell, 1968; later Engel, Blackwell and Miniard | A central decision process fed by information input and processing, shaped by environmental and individual variables |
Assael's four types of buying behaviour
| Brand differences | High involvement | Low involvement |
|---|---|---|
| Significant | Complex buying (a first laptop or car) | Variety-seeking (biscuits, snacks) |
| Few | Dissonance-reducing (carpets, cement) | Habitual (salt, everyday soap) |
Buying roles
Buygrid: buy classes (Robinson, Faris and Wind, 1967)
| Buy class | Meaning | Buy phases used |
|---|---|---|
| New task | First-time purchase; high risk and uncertainty | All eight |
| Modified rebuy | Change in specifications, price, terms or supplier | Some |
| Straight rebuy | Routine reorder from an approved supplier list | Few (mainly the order routine) |
The eight buy phases
Kotler's labels for the buy phases of the buygrid.
- 1Problem recognition
- 2General need description
- 3Product specification
- 4Supplier search
- 5Proposal solicitation
- 6Supplier selection
- 7Order-routine specification
- 8★Performance review
★ one-way, controls the pace
Industrial buying: exam points
- Business demand is derived from consumer demand, relatively price-inelastic in the short run, and fluctuating (the acceleration effect).
- Fewer, larger and geographically concentrated buyers; professional purchasing; multiple buying influences; direct buying; reciprocity.
- Webster-Wind model: environmental, organisational, interpersonal (buying centre) and individual factors.
- Sheth's industrial buyer model (1973): expectations of purchasing agents, engineers and users; joint vs autonomous decisions; product-specific and company-specific factors.
- Factors shaping consumer behaviour (Kotler): cultural, social, personal and psychological.
NET asks you to match models with authors (Nicosia 1966, EKB 1968, Howard-Sheth 1969), sequence the decision process or buy phases, classify buy classes, and name the gatekeeper or decider in a scenario.
Typical MCQ: “Which model has four 'fields', starting from the firm's message and the consumer's attitude?” Nicosia (1966). Trap: Howard-Sheth uses inputs, hypothetical constructs, outputs and exogenous variables, not fields.
Typical MCQ: “A factory reorders the same lubricant from its approved supplier. Which buy class is this?” Straight rebuy. Trap: a modified rebuy changes the specifications, price or supplier.
Typical MCQ: “In the buying centre, who controls the flow of information?” Gatekeepers. Trap: approvers authorise the proposed purchase; they do not filter information.
Consumer models in age order, 'NEH': Nicosia 1966, EKB 1968, Howard-Sheth 1969. Buying centre (Kotler's seven): Initiators, Users, Influencers, Deciders, Approvers, Buyers, Gatekeepers.