Information Control and Influence in Emergent Buying Centers

The authors focus on emergent buying center networks in firms that recently have purchased an expensive, complex, technological product. The authors examine how a person's information control and influence vary within such networks. The purpose of this study is to assess the relative contribution of information control, individual attributes, and organization structure variables on influence. The authors find that factors related to the person are the most important in explaining a buying center member's influence for this type of purchasing decision. Although less important, the variables of information control, decentralization, and formalization also affect influence. Overall, the authors find strong empirical support for their model.