B2B Information search behavior and the new era of the internet : the coming of the web 2.0 and its implications

Details

Supervisors

Kervyn de Meerendré, Nicolas ; Berkmann, Manuel

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion

Abstract

Business-to-Business buying behavior is major topic in business research, since it found own recognition after acknowledging the substantial differences with the much more discussed Business-to-Consumer buying topics. While much more recent, the Web 2.0 has been in the spotlight since its conception, and has attracted a fair share of attention of several scholars, who examined its applications in business research. However, when considering the two topics together, the tremendous lack of research support for such key factors of purchasing and innovation has brought us to conceive a work that examines the dynamics between aspects of industrial information search behavior and the use of Web 2.0. Through the use of regression and correlation analyses, our research indicates that the Web 2.0 should be considered from now on as a crucial information source, and, while it does not moderate relationships between a set of determinants and some aspects of information search behavior, it hints at the possibility of generating in the buyer’s mind positive feelings toward the purchasing experience. Moreover, despite contrasting and, at a first glance, deceptive findings, our work advises Business-to-Business marketers not to underestimate the power of such platforms, and develop ways to capitalize on the positive links between the Web 2.0 and positive effects on the brand and on the purchase experience. Finally, in order to overcome a surprising lack of related studies, we aim at setting a turning point and work as an incentive to motivate further research on the topic.