Decision_making_unit

A buying center (also known as a decision making unit), in marketing, procurement, and organizational studies, is a group of employees responsible for purchasing an item for the organization. In a business setting, major purchases typically require input from various parts of the organization, including finance, accounting, purchasing, information technology management, and senior management. Highly technical purchases, such as information systems or production equipment, also require the expertise of technical specialists. In some cases the buying center is an informal ad hoc group, but in other cases, it is a formally sanctioned group with specific mandates, criteria, and procedures. The employees that constitute the buying center will vary depending on the item being purchased.

In a generic sense, there are typically five roles within any buying center. They are:

1. End users of the item being purchased.
2. Buyers who are responsible for the contract.
3. Influencers who try to affect the outcome decision with their opinions.
4. Deciders who make the final decision.
5. Gatekeepers who control the flow of information.

Because of the specialized nature of computer and software purchases, many corporations use buying centers that are specialized for information technology acquisition. These specialized buying centers typically receive information about the technology from commercial sources, peers, publications, and experience. In this process, top management, the IT director, IT professionals, and other users participate together to find a solution.

Organizational buying behavior

Models have been produced to explain the complexities of the organizational buying process. The best known of these is probably that of Webster and Wind. This follows the buying process inwards from the external environment, through the organizational environment to the \'buying center\' (the group concerned in the buying decision) to the individuals involved and the buying process that they go through. This theory is useful for illustrating the variables and the complexities which may be involved. It is, however, difficult to relate to practical decisions.

References

• Trondsen, T. J., Some Characteristics of Adopters of a Major Innovation in the Computer Field and its Potential Use in Marketing. Industrial Marketing Management, 25(6):567–576 (November 1996).
• Webster, F. E. and Wind, Y., Organizational Buying Behavior (Prentice-Hall, 1972).
• Mercer, D., Marketing (Blackwell, 1996).

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