組織購買決策中人際影響策略之比較研究

A Comparative Study among Interpersonal Influence Strategies in Organizational Buying Decision-Making

蘇哲仁(Che-Jen Su)

《管理學報》 21卷5期 (2004/10) Pp. 593-610

https://doi.org/10.6504/JOM.2004.21.05.03

摘要

組織購買行為具有深切之人際影響動態涵義；不同學門關於人際或組織內部影響之觀點與重心各自不同，且欠缺整體性的實證研究。本研究之目的，即是擷取行銷理論、組織行為，與傳播科學等不同領域之研究成果，融合建立範圍較廣闊之模式進行實證，提供後續關於人際影響或組織購買行為研究更大的空間。經過文獻探討與推論，本研究列出請求，資訊交換，勸告，允諾，威脅，與依法主張等六種影響策略。並以影響動機、權力基礎、組織內部階層等關於影響者之因素，與對影響者之依賴、相對地位等關於被影響者因素為影響策略之前因；外顯影響為其結果，分別建立線性結構關係模式探討因素間的因果關係。
本研究以「中國採購管理協會」之會員為受訪者進行問卷調查。研究發現多數影響策略可能具有贏得他人順從的效果；權力基礎與影響策略間之對應關係大致相符。其餘關於前因意義之假說多數也受到支持。本研究在理論上的意義，在於釐清相關研究於分析單位上之差異，同時展示學門間理論整合之實證研究係有其必要性。

關鍵字

組織購買 ； 影響策略 ； 權力基礎 ； 外顯影響

並列摘要

Dynamics of interpersonal influence underlies organizational buying behavior. However, previous research lacks comprehensive frameworks to examine this phenomenon empirically due to the gaps among respects and focuses of various disciplines. The purpose of this study is to develop and to propose an integrated conceptual framework analyzing how influence attempts are determined and their effects in real purchasing conditions. Thus this article provides those who are interested in the domain of intra-organizational influence guidelines for more empirical research in the future. Source-related factors (i.e., individual goals, base of power, and organizational level) and target-related factors (i.e., dependence on the source and target status) are identified in this article as antecedent constructs of the choice of alternative influence strategies (i.e., requests, information-exchange, recommendations, promises, threats, and legalistic pleas), and we apply LISREL models to discuss the causality among these factors.
The sample is generated from a listing of the members of the CAPM. A total of 395 survey questionnaire packets with personalized letters requesting their participation were mailed to potential informants on the list. The initial mailing was followed by a reminder and a second copy of questionnaire two weeks after the first mailing. This procedure repeated two weeks after the previous run. The final dataset consisted of 208 usable responses, yielding a 52.7% response rate. The estimation procedure applied here was maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). More than one half of the employing organizations were from manufacturing and financial service. Of the responding informants, 58% were male and 42% were female. Overall, our results indicate that the influence strategies are effective, and the base of power is associated with the use of influence strategies. Most of the hypotheses are empirically supported by our findings. This study not only integrates literature on influence strategies, and provides us a more comprehensive framework to gain insights into the implication of units of analysis, but also suggests needs for further development.
Although we highlight the dynamics of influence strategies in buying centers, our study has some limitations that need to be acknowledged and remedied in future research. First, there are substantial differences in the measurement of influence strategies among studies. This has been a serious problem for researchers to make comparison of previous findings and design advanced research based on literature review. Thus, to integrate more findings of research and prospects from various disciplines, a commonly accepted typology of influence tactics or strategies for empirical research should be developed and refined in the future.
Second, because influence attempts are not manipulated, causality can only be inferred from the results. A variety of extraneous factors, such as respondent biases and attributions, may influence the correlations. Specifically, we apply retrospective, lateral, and self-reported data from the target, which may account for some of the difference between source and target reports of influence. Previous research suggests that descriptions of a source’s influence attempt by targets may be insensitive to subtle forms of influence that are successful only if the target is not aware they are being used. Furthermore, manifest influence described by source in decision-making process may be named as “perceived influence”. Incorporating opinions of the source in the future could provide an unbiased report of actual behavior and dynamics, thus identify the inconsistencies between a source’s intentions and the target’s perceptions. Furthermore, research with experimental designs is needed to verify the effects of influence strategies on consequences.
Finally, our attempt regarding exploring the link between the source’s power or the target’s dependence on the source and the use of a direct and coercive influence strategy is not fully encouraged by results. This suggests strongly that the link may be contingent on the existence of some moderating variable(s), and future research on the relationship like this from multiple viewpoints appears to be warranted. Despite these limitations, this study furthers the level of understanding of how influence strategies are perceived and used. We hope that the framework and findings provided will serve as a base for developing or designing more additional research on organizational buying decision-making.

並列關鍵字

Organizational Buying ； Influence Strategy ； Base of Power ； Manifest Influence

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