Response to the Comments on “Industrial Pricing: Theory and Managerial Practice”

TLDR

The study originates from the first author’s 18‑year heavy‑equipment industry experience, revealing that market‑oriented pricing strategies are less widely used in practice than the marketing literature suggests. The authors aim to determine how many firms rely solely on internal focus for their pricing strategy. The study confirms that firms largely operate with internal pricing focus, though the extent is less than the commentary suggested.

Abstract

The authors thank We would like to thank George E. Cressman, Jr. for his comments on their paper, “Industrial Pricing: Theory and Managerial Practice.” This study had its origins in the thesis of the first author, who entered a doctoral program in marketing after spending 18 years in the heavy equipment industry. In that period he spent a lot of time setting prices and trying to predict future price changes by competitors. His industry experience suggested that the market-oriented pricing strategies discussed in the marketing literature are not used as extensively in practice as we might like to believe. The results of the study do confirm this suspicion, although not to the extent suggested in the commentary. It is important to understand how many firms are operating with a purely internal focus for their pricing strategy.