Australian import managers’ purchasing decision behavior: an empirical study

Reports a pilot study of the relative importance of import decision variables as rated by Australian managers. A systematic sample of 104 Australian managers representing different companies participated in the study. Australian importers rated product quality as the most important variable when importing products from overseas followed by long‐term suppliers’ dependability, product style/feature, price, and timely delivery. Australian managers who import consumer products find the domestic import duties and tariffs to be more important than did those who import industrial products. Larger volume importers regard the product brand name reputation to be more important than did those who import smaller volumes.