An analysis of buying center decisions through the salesforce

In this paper we examine whether classical customer surveys that are used to predict group buying decisions can be replaced by the method of interviewing the salesforce. We set up a two-step research approach. In the first step, we examined the predictive performance of different measurement processes in a salesforce survey (self-explicated approach and limit conjoint analysis for the preferences and constant sum scale and for the influence measurement limit conjoint analysis). In the second step, we conducted a classical customer survey using limit conjoint analysis and compared it with the predictions derived from the salesforce survey. Our results show that when surveying the salesforce (1) limit conjoint analysis is superior to the self-explicated approach in measuring preferences. With regard to the measurement of influence, we did not find any significant differences between the two procedures. (2) Our major findings are that the predictions derived from the salesforce survey are not only more practical because of the relatively low costs but that they also outperform those from the customer survey.