Paper info: Does "Brand" Work in the Taiwanese SME Manufacturers
Title
Does "Brand" Work in the Taiwanese SME Manufacturers
Authors
Yi-Jen Wang
Place of Publication
The paper was published at the 27th IMP-conference in Glasgow, Scotland in 2011.
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Abstract
Abstract
In this WIP paper, we arranged a survey of Taiwanese SME manufacturers. In this survey,
we tried to identify how the criteria work in the industrial purchase decision making process.
Secondly, by identification, we wanted to assess how the brand image really influences
decisions.
There are six findings from the survey. (1) The companies in the purchasing and offering
situations evaluate “price” in the same way. (2) While the companies offer their products, they
tend to evaluate non-price criteria higher than in the purchasing situation. (3) In the different
type of industrial products transactions, the companies evaluate each criterion in different
ways. (4) The evaluations on each criterion are different by the main product which the
companies deal with. (5) In the different industrial businesses, the scale of the companies may
influence the evaluations. (6) In the different industrial businesses, some criteria will
influence the stability of the business relationship.
According to these findings, we can make two deductions. (1) In the industrial transactions,
price is the common factor for all companies. However, only part of the non-price factors may
work in the purchase decision making process. (2) The influence of branding in B2B is a
result of transactions, but not a factor to boost transactions. From the statistical analysis, we
can find the companies in the offering situation evaluate brand image more aggressively in all
type of products. However, when the companies are in the purchasing situation, they might
not evaluate brand image in the same way. From these two deductions, we may say, the
branding in B2B may have influence in some situations, but it should not be over estimated.
Maybe we can comment on the supplier companies making efforts in branding, however, it is
not necessarily accepted by the customer companies. Nevertheless, every successful
transaction may contribute to the supplier’s brand image. For example, reasonable price, high
level of technology, rapid delivery, on time delivery, widely adoption of other
companies…and so on. But on the other hand, the supplier’s brand image may not necessarily
contribute to the transactions.
Keywords: B2B branding, decision-making criteria, Taiwanese SME manufacturer,
transaction situations, company characteristics.
In this WIP paper, we arranged a survey of Taiwanese SME manufacturers. In this survey,
we tried to identify how the criteria work in the industrial purchase decision making process.
Secondly, by identification, we wanted to assess how the brand image really influences
decisions.
There are six findings from the survey. (1) The companies in the purchasing and offering
situations evaluate “price” in the same way. (2) While the companies offer their products, they
tend to evaluate non-price criteria higher than in the purchasing situation. (3) In the different
type of industrial products transactions, the companies evaluate each criterion in different
ways. (4) The evaluations on each criterion are different by the main product which the
companies deal with. (5) In the different industrial businesses, the scale of the companies may
influence the evaluations. (6) In the different industrial businesses, some criteria will
influence the stability of the business relationship.
According to these findings, we can make two deductions. (1) In the industrial transactions,
price is the common factor for all companies. However, only part of the non-price factors may
work in the purchase decision making process. (2) The influence of branding in B2B is a
result of transactions, but not a factor to boost transactions. From the statistical analysis, we
can find the companies in the offering situation evaluate brand image more aggressively in all
type of products. However, when the companies are in the purchasing situation, they might
not evaluate brand image in the same way. From these two deductions, we may say, the
branding in B2B may have influence in some situations, but it should not be over estimated.
Maybe we can comment on the supplier companies making efforts in branding, however, it is
not necessarily accepted by the customer companies. Nevertheless, every successful
transaction may contribute to the supplier’s brand image. For example, reasonable price, high
level of technology, rapid delivery, on time delivery, widely adoption of other
companies…and so on. But on the other hand, the supplier’s brand image may not necessarily
contribute to the transactions.
Keywords: B2B branding, decision-making criteria, Taiwanese SME manufacturer,
transaction situations, company characteristics.