Why are industrial firms high or low brand sensitive? An empirical investigation

ABSTRACT

Grounded in information processing and risk theories, this study examines organizational brand sensitivity as a three-dimensional construct that includes brand-related information acquisition, processing, and buying center memory. The study validates that buying center structure (degree of lateral and vertical involvement) mediates the relationships between antecedents (purchase situation) and consequences (brand sensitivity). The relative influence of buying center roles, the type of buyer–seller ties, and the number of supplier brands moderate these linkages. For example, higher lateral involvement implies lower brand information acquisition. Presence of influential technical roles in the buying center and availability of major branded offerings strengthen this association.

Acknowledgments

We thank the editor and the two reviewers for their exhaustive and intuitive comments, which helped us enhance the presentation of this paper.

We also acknowledge the feedback from two marketing scholars working in the B2B marketing domain in helping us develop the conceptual framework and scale items.

Notes

¹ χ² = 386.029, df = 239, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = 0.123; goodness-of-fit index [GFI] = 0.889; adjusted goodness-of-fit index [AGFI] = 0.849; PCLOSE = 0.206.