Effects of accountability on symbolic information search and information analysis by organizational buyers |
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Authors: | Patricia M Doney Gary M Armstrong |
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Institution: | (1) Florida Atlantic University, USA;(2) the Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
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Abstract: | Most studies of the organizational buying process assume that buyers acquire and use information “prosocially”—to make better
decisions and promote their company’s welfare. The authors propose, however, that demands to account for their behavior causes
organizational buyers to also gather and use information for political purposes—to protect their own self-interest. The authors
present the results of an empirical study that investigates the extent to which four types of accountability—informal, official,
process, and decision accountability—result in political (or symbolic) information search and prosocial information analysis
by organizational buyers. Study findings suggest that buyers accountable to superiors and those accountable to subordinates
or peers engage in more symbolic information search. Buyers accountable for their decision-making process analyze information
more extensively. Surprisingly, buyers accountable for decision outcomes neither search for symbolic information nor analyze
information more extensively.
She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interests include industrial buying
behavior, business-to-business relationships, and international marketing. She has published articles in theJournal of International Marketing and theJournal of Macromarketing, as well as various conference proceedings.
He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. His research interests are in the marketing strategy and public policy
areas. His work has been published inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research, and several other journals. |
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