Title: The characteristics of service buying in the business-to-business sector

Authors: Jukka Hallikas; Tuukka Kulha; Katrina Lintukangas

Addresses: School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Skinnarilankatu 34, P.O. Box 22, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland ' School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Skinnarilankatu 34, P.O. Box 22, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland ' School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Skinnarilankatu 34, P.O. Box 22, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland

Abstract: The purpose this paper is to identify the special features of service buying, with specific reference to Finland, and to describe the organisational characteristics of firms that are more heavily involved in buying services in the business-to-business (B2B) context. The research results reveal an association between the volume of service buying and certain functional aspects of the business. Companies engaged heavily in service purchasing are willing to seek outsourcing opportunities in the area of supply management in order to improve their service-purchasing competence. Furthermore, it was found that the rate of service purchasing indicates the structure of supply management organisation - the more the company is engaged in service procurement the more likely the purchasing is decentralised in various locations. Moreover, successful service purchasing requires continuous and active interaction between all the parties involved in the procurement process.

Keywords: service purchasing; supply chain management; SCM; survey; business services; service buying; service procurement; service-based thinking; Finland; business-to-business; B2B; outsourcing; decentralised purchasing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPM.2013.053650

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2013 Vol.6 No.3, pp.280 - 296

Published online: 30 Jan 2014 *

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