An Exploratory Investigation of the Structure of the Buying Center in the Metalworking Industry

The results of an exploratory study of patterns of purchase influence in the metal-working industry are reported. The data set used was a representative sample of 2151 purchase influencers in the metalworking industry. Respondents reported their involvement or noninvolvement in each of seven phases of the purchasing decision process. The authors show the presence of identifiable patterns of reported involvement in the organizational buying process and suggest an approach for analyzing those patterns.