Chapter 1 - develops, through reference to extant literature, an overview of professional purchasing practice. The increased recognition given to the role of the professional buyer as a potential source of competitive advantage is noted, as is the resulting growth in related academic interest. The Chapter develops the need for further research and also acknowledges the difficulties associated with the investigation of professional procurement practice. The expected research contribution is outlined before Chapter 1 concludes by summarising the outline and structure of the thesis.
Chapter 2 - presents an overview of the broad schools of thought that describe the major influences on the actions of professional buyers. The ontological roots of the literature considered include Negotiation Theory, Business Strategy and Supply Chain disciplines. The Chapter begins with an examination of both research traditions from the Negotiation School, namely descriptive and prescriptive research. Consideration is then given to the contribution to the body of knowledge made by those authors whose aim is to provide guidance to practitioners engaged in negotiation. Collectively this literature combines to form a broad view of the forces that drive the behaviours of those engaged in the negotiations that take place between professional buyers and sellers as they seek to agree the terms of their trading arrangements.
27 Supply chain and business strategy literature is then used as the basis for an appraisal of the operational mechanisms that connect professional buyers and sellers. Initially through consideration of unidirectional approaches which reflect only the perspective of the buyer, the contributions of lean and agile thinking, Transaction Cost Economising and Purchasing Portfolio Management are reviewed. The Chapter then considers the theoretical paradigms that reflect the views of both buyer and seller including the interactions perspective and the power perspective. Attention is then given to the theoretical models that have been constructed to describe the professional buyer-seller interaction, followed by a review of the empirical studies conducted. The Chapter concludes by examining the emergent gaps in extant literature, before summarising the Chapter findings.
Chapter 3 - reviews the exploratory study conducted into the behaviour of professional buyers. The Chapter develops the argument as to how best to position the exploratory study with the intention of closing the gaps identified in the preceding chapter. Research questions are developed which enquire as to what extent the behaviour of professional buyers is driven by the desire to identify and develop co-operative strategies, or alternatively to enhance and maximise gain from their power position relative to the sellers. The research questions also focus on the extent to which these behaviours are operationally focussed and to what extent the buyer’s objectives are commercially driven.
The Chapter continues by developing the arguments that support the use of a qualitative methodology and by explaining how conducting an exploratory investigation benefits the overall objectives of the research endeavour. The adoption of a case study research design is explained, as is the basis for selecting the cases within the exploratory study. The method of recruiting participants into the exploratory study by the snowballing of buyers through contact made via sellers is then explained. The Chapter discusses the methods used to collect data using semi-structured interviews, and outlines the arrangements for recording, subsequently transcribing and analysing the interview dialogue. The results of the analysis of the interview transcripts are presented, in tabular form, and the emergent themes are summarised.
Finally, the conclusions of the exploratory study, together with the implication in respect of informing the overall research effort are discussed.
28 Chapter 4 - begins by a review of buyer behaviour evidenced through the exploratory study and establishes the need to further review extant literature, in an attempt to explain those behaviours that appeared not to be overtly focussed on achieving either operational or commercial benefits. The Chapter continues by establishing that value creation lies at the core of the buyer-supplier interaction and that the role of the professional buyer is to maximise the value that accrues from this interaction. The case is therefore established to focus on literature that explores buyer value perception.
The nature of value is discussed and its socially constructed aspects are explored. The concepts of value-in-exchange and value-in-use are presented, as is the role of Buyer Specific Perception of Value (BSPV), in embedding human factors such as feelings, emotions and buyer ego. The Chapter then extends the discussion of customer perceived BSPV, which is considered to exist in parallel with value-in-use and value-in-exchange.
The Chapter develops the emergence of Service-Dominant Logic (S-DL) which has, a founding premise, the concept that value is always uniquely and phenomenologically determined by the beneficiary and that value-in-use is super-ordinate to value in exchange. It is recognised that the application of S-DL has the potential to provide a useful insight into the buyer-supplier presales interaction. The Chapter concludes by expanding the initial research questions, as developed in Chapter 3, to consider the extent to which the buyer’s value perceptions focus variously on Utility Value, Exchange Value or BSPV.
Chapter 5 – develops the research design with a review of the research aims and continues by explaining the choice of the transaction as the unit of analysis. The research paradigm for the exploratory study is then extended so as to address the wider aspects of the main element of the investigation, which remains firmly qualitative and is conducted within a case study setting.
The Chapter continues with an explanation as to the basis of case selection.
The Rebuy Case is constructed from transactions that occur within vertical trading arrangements, in conditions of power based interdependence and whose subject is the rebuy of either a good or service which is the subject of upgrade or is perceived to be important by the buyer.
The research design is developed by describing the steps taken to select and recruit participants into the Rebuy Case, including those largely unsuccessful
29 attempts to select participants using purchasing community sites on the World-Wide Web. The basis of data collection is then described which follows a contemporary interpretation of the Diary-Diary Interview Method (Zimmerman and Wieder, 1977) in which respondents are invited to record their thoughts contemporaneously, as they progress through the pre-sales interaction associated with their chosen transaction. The arrangements for the follow-up interview, which explores and develops the themes raised in the diary, are then described together with the process for recording and transcribing the interview for subsequent analysis.
The Chapter describes the chosen Method of Analysis which is Qualitative Content Analysis, including the use of the NVivo9 software package to facilitate data handling and the moderation of the data to account for respondent repetition and intensity. The approach to presenting the results is explained before addressing the method taken to triangulate the results obtained through Qualitative Content Analysis in order to better inform the investigation through the benefits of differing perspectives.
Chapter 6 – presents the results of the Rebuy Case. The Chapter begins by presenting the results for each of the twenty-one individual transactions that collectively comprise the Case. The results are presented in the form of individual ‘Transaction X-Rays’. The dominant behaviour pattern to be identified is that of the ‘T-Shaped’ Buyer, who characteristically adopts a commercial approach to relationship management which is Adversarial while simultaneously seeking, to a somewhat limited extent, the means for operational collaboration. Secondary behaviour patterns are also identified.
‘Transaction X-Rays’ are also used to demonstrate the value perceptions held by the respective buyers.
The Chapter continues with a review of the outcomes of the triangulation process, the results of which prove to be well aligned with those derived through the analysis of the ‘Transaction X-Rays’.
Through the aggregation of individual ‘Transaction X-Rays’, that share specific common characteristics, composite ‘X-Rays’ are developed whose further analysis gives rise to emergent themes, including the dominance of the ‘T- Shaped’ Buyer, the prominence of Exchange Value among the buyer’s value perceptions and the frequent occurrence of BSPV. The Chapter concludes by recognising how these results effectively address the research questions.
30 Chapter 7 – begins with a discussion of the significance of BSPV and the dominance of the behavioural profile of the ‘T-Shaped’ buyer within the Rebuy Case. It is noted that the ‘T-Shape’ has previously been adopted by a range of authors to explain behavioural concepts not directly related to procurement activity. An examination is then conducted of the composite ‘X- Rays’ which allow comparison between various sub-groups within the Rebuy Case, and which raises noteworthy discussion points and potentially signposts the direction for future investigation. A further discussion point arises by making a simple comparison of the emergent primary and secondary behaviour patterns for each transaction against the corresponding dominant value perception.
The Chapter continues by considering the implications of the findings of the Rebuy Case on extant thinking and reaches a potentially surprising conclusion.
Despite the apparent weight of opinion suggesting the benefits of ‘Non- Adversarial and Collaborative Relationships’, the Rebuy Case demonstrates the dominance of the ‘T-Shaped’ buyer who favours an Adversarial approach to value capture and only allows a limited degree of Collaborative value development with the supplier. The secondary ‘Γ-shaped buyer’ profile demonstrates buyer behaviours that are strongly Adversarial and are firmly conducted at Arm’s Length. Recognising the limitations that are implicit in case study findings based on empirical evidence derived from a relatively small sample, it is nevertheless suggested that given the dominance of the ‘T- shaped’ buyer profile, potential explanations should be considered for this apparent gap.
The Rebuy Case findings are then discussed in respect of their implication for the application of Service-Dominant Logic. S-DL considers that value is created through the interaction between actors. The frequency with which BSPV occurs within the Rebuy Case, and the influence it has on buyer behaviour, suggests that tangible Value is being created (at least for the buyer) during the pre-sales interaction before there is an agreement between the parties to work together. This point is much earlier in the interaction than has previously been considered within the S-DL School.
The Contribution to Research Method Development is then discussed which lies in the possibility, presented in the thesis, to aggregate the input from multiple respondents in a manner that minimises the effects of
31 decontextulisation and decomposition. The Chapter concludes by highlighting possible directions for future research along three distinct strands; intra Case refinement, extra Case expansion and replication.