Abstract:

There is a large amount of research which deals with the buying behaviour of organizations and which brings to the fore the concept of "Buy grid" where a buying centre and the different phases in the buying process are identified. Our research concerns the application of this concept in the field of buying for resale in France in integrated commerce (hypermarkets and department stores). This is an exploratory approach (case study) built around interviews with buyers and suppliers. We cover the existence of a buying centre, the different buying situations and the phases in the process. Two variables play an important role : - the variables linked to the company, in particular the centralisation or decentralisation of decision making - the variables linked to the environment, particularly the existence of fashion phenomena. However, the exploratory nature of this research, especially where the size of the sample is concerned, limits generalisation.