Doubts and Risks in the Buying and Purchasing Processes of Business Buyers

Abstract

This paper aims to reveal the nature of doubts and risks that may cause business buyers to resist making a purchasing decision or proceeding in the business-to-business (B2B) buying process. Much sales literature has focused on B2B value creation and the sales process, but less studied is the buyers’ buying process and business buyers’ feelings concerning the doubts and risks associated with buying. This paper makes an empirical contribution to this debate using twenty-one in-depth interviews with business buyers, analysed using qualitative methods. The study reveals that the doubts and risks experienced are essential elements of the business buyers’ buying process, as the buyers appreciate salespeople who clearly recognise, raise and minimise the doubts and risks that buyers encounter during the process.