The Nature of Organizational Search in High Technology Markets

Abstract

Previous research on buyer behavior in high technology markets has focused on specific outcomes (product adoption or rejection) as opposed to buyers’ underlying processes. The authors identify key dimensions of high technology markets and draw on organization theory and information economics to develop hypotheses about their effects on organizational buyers’ search behavior. They also present propositions about how certain aspects of a firm's present buying situation may influence its perceptions of the characteristics of a given market. An empirical test of the propositions in a sample of computer workstation purchases shows good support for the hypothesized relationships.