Many researchers have contributed to the field of international purchasing; but there are no consistent findings to illustrate particular connections within the field. This particular research studies the ways that two Iranian producers of polymer piping systems handle international purchasing in current complex Iranian economic circumstances. By going beyond macroeconomic theories of international trade and using three-factor model of international industrial purchasing this particular study aims to reveal how international industrial purchasing is handled by Iranian producers of polymer piping systems under current Iranian economic and politic circumstances. A case study approach employing face-to-face semi-structured interview method is designed. A set of interview questionnaires was designed to gather empirical qualitative and quantitative data. A narrative analysis was then conducted to lead the discussions and to draw conclusions. The results of the study show that international purchasing in both firms is influenced by internal factors including attitudes and competence as well as external factors including market conditions and regulations. The levels to which the first three mentioned factors influence international purchasing varies between the studied firms; but regulations have similar effects on the ways the studied firms handle international purchasing. Also, the modified three-factor model is perfectly applicable to the studied cases under current circumstances of Iranian economy.

Abstract This study explores the role and nature of purchasing and supplier relationship management in the specific, complex industry setting. The purpose is to develop concepts to describe, conceptualise and analyse the emerging software component market from the point of view of the industrial buyer. The theoretical discussion on the market is concluded with a framework consisting of two parts; one describing the main elements of the market from the buyer's perspective and another describing the dynamism of the market. The theoretical framework suggests that the elements of the market from the buyer company's perspective are (1) the own needs, (2) the industry demand, (3) the object of exchange, (4) the exchange mechanism, (5) the exchange counterpart and (6) the industry supply. In the dynamic part of the framework, the development of the software component market, i.e. the progression of the market process is understood through change of heterogeneity of supply and demand. The empirical part of the study includes an embedded single-case study where a buyer perceived COTS software component market is analysed. First, the elements of the case market are studied and variables describing these elements are identified. Following this, the dynamic part of the framework is used as basis for identifying alternative types of markets for the development of the COTS software component market. This is resulted in a typology of four market types from the purchasing perspective; (1) Co-operation projects, (2) Ideal market, (3) Competitive supply management and (4) Horizontal competition. It is argued that all these represent a different type of situation from the industrial purchasing perspective. Finally, it is suggested how the different elements of the market process represent themselves and how they can be used in managing purchasing and influencing the markets in each of these possible market types.

<p>Background: In the 1970’s, the first concerns regarding manufacturing pollu-tion headed off in Sweden and an enormous demand was cre-ated. The result came to be an enhanced consumption of ingredi-ent branded products such as KRAV, Bra Miljöval and The Swan to mention a few. Fair Trade entered the Swedish shelves in 1996 which gave the consumers the possibility to buy products and contribute to better conditions for farmers and employees in de-veloping countries.</p><p>Problem: In 1995 a research was performed, which showed that 50 percent of the respondents did not buy products with for instance an en-vironmental concerned label due to the significantly higher price. Some argue against this and believe that it is more of a marketing issue. Customers have become more aware in their shopping and, in order to keep them, companies must meet their demands by paying more attention to how they run their business.</p><p>Purpose: The aim with this thesis is to investigate why managers make decisions to purchase ingredient branded products, particulary Fair Trade.</p><p>Method: To accomplish this thesis a qualitative approach has been applied with the intention to describe the result from performed tele-phone and personal interviews with companies within chain res-taurants, hotels, grocery stores, and textile retail stores.</p><p>Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the decision to introduce Fair Trade labelled products depended on factors such as; the introduction year of these products, the history of the company and core values. Managers at the selected companies decided to purchase products with the ingredient brand Fair Trade for different rea-sons. Either since they had a long history of concern for fair production and rooted values or due to that the introduction of these products contributed to a good business image or to clean the company’s history.</p>

Background: In the 1970’s, the first concerns regarding manufacturing pollu-tion headed off in Sweden and an enormous demand was cre-ated. The result came to be an enhanced consumption of ingredi-ent branded products such as KRAV, Bra Miljöval and The Swan to mention a few. Fair Trade entered the Swedish shelves in 1996 which gave the consumers the possibility to buy products and contribute to better conditions for farmers and employees in de-veloping countries. Problem: In 1995 a research was performed, which showed that 50 percent of the respondents did not buy products with for instance an en-vironmental concerned label due to the significantly higher price. Some argue against this and believe that it is more of a marketing issue. Customers have become more aware in their shopping and, in order to keep them, companies must meet their demands by paying more attention to how they run their business. Purpose: The aim with this thesis is to investigate why managers make decisions to purchase ingredient branded products, particulary Fair Trade. Method: To accomplish this thesis a qualitative approach has been applied with the intention to describe the result from performed tele-phone and personal interviews with companies within chain res-taurants, hotels, grocery stores, and textile retail stores. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the decision to introduce Fair Trade labelled products depended on factors such as; the introduction year of these products, the history of the company and core values. Managers at the selected companies decided to purchase products with the ingredient brand Fair Trade for different rea-sons. Either since they had a long history of concern for fair production and rooted values or due to that the introduction of these products contributed to a good business image or to clean the company’s history.

A central part of the marketing process is to be aware of why a customer or buyer makes a purchase and without such an understanding, businesses find it hard to respond to the customer‟s needs and wants. A large part of the current literature concerned with industrial buyer behavior has tended to focus on modeling and mapping the industrial buyer behavior. However, little research has been found on how the industrial buyer behaves when faced with a radical product innovation. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the industrial buyer behavior of firms within the Life Science sector in Uppsala when faced with a radical product. We aim to study the process and identify possible differences from buying a non-radical product. This study will provide valuable information about industrial buyer behavior that might be useful to marketers. This thesis will be conducted by using a deductive and qualitative approach. A case study approach was used with the selected three organizations in the Life Science sector in Uppsala. Semi-structured interviews and a survey were used to gather primary data; secondary data was collected through web pages. Our findings from these three organizations show that the industrial buyer behavior is affected. Using the buy grid framework we see that the process, the steps, doesn‟t change but within the steps different actions are taken. Step 1, 4, 5 shows strong differences when confronted with a radical and a non-radical product. These differences depend on the complexity of the product and the amount of available information. This affects the level of willingness to take risks. As the complexity is seen as high in radical products and there is not sufficient information the risk of buying this type of product means taking high functional risk and high financial risk which the organizations wants to avoid. However, the decision center [decision group] becomes more complex and more individuals are involved in the decision process when faced with a radical product. The most notable factors influencing the decision center in this situation is the size of the organization, the complexity of the product, the functional and financial risk, the importance of the decision at hand, attitude, and personal experience. The supplier criterion goes from being price orientated in the case with a non-radical product towards being more supplier orientated when faced with a radical product. This study does not aim to investigate how companies should market their products and neither does it try to generalize conclusions about industrial buyer behavior. This limitation is due to the small sample used.