Antecedents and consequences of strategic price management: An analysis in the New Zealand industrial service context

The purpose of the present study is to (a) measure the extent to which selected contextual variables have an impact on the adoption of strategic pricing by industrial service providers and (b) determine the effect of the adoption of strategic pricing on the process that industrial service providers use for levying their prices. The current study represents the first attempt to empirically examine the aforementioned topics in an industrial service context. Data were collected from 120 industrial service providers operating in four different service sectors in New Zealand through a mail survey. Moreover, qualitative research through 16 in-depth interviews was carried out. Regarding the antecedents of strategic pricing, customer orientation, interfunctional co-ordination and higher formality were found to boost its adoption. With reference to the effect of strategic pricing on the pricing process used, differences were found among low and high strategic prices.

► We examine antecedents and consequences of strategic pricing. ► The study investigates the adoption of strategic pricing in an industrial service context. ► It shows the impact of strategic pricing on the pricing process. ► Market orientation and pricing formality are core antecedents of strategic pricing. ► The importance of pricing objectives, methods and policies depends on strategic pricing.