he business climate is undergoing a transformation and managers are faced with several challenges, notthe least of which is related to pricing strategy. With an increased transparency in the market as well as anincreased competitive pressure, and with more sophisticated and well-informed consumers, retailbusinesses find it hard to navigate the pricing jungle. At the same time, the conventional wisdom in thefield of pricing and the theoretical models on the topic, originate from a time long before thedigitalization. Old models are not a problem in itself, but when there are new forces in the pricingecosystem, driven by technological advancement, an assessment of the incumbent models is in the bestinterest of both businesses and academia. The reason for this is that, the use of old models that rely oninaccurate assumptions may impact businesses’ prioritizing of resources or their overall business strategy.In addition, researchers might be distracted and the research field disrupted. Thus, the purpose of thisstudy is to discuss whether or not there are additional dimensions in pricing strategy that are not coveredby the incumbent pricing models. Here, dimensions refer to the key components of businesses’ strategicdecision making in regards to pricing.This thesis examines pricing models in today’s business context in order to answer the research question:“Are there additional dimensions of the empirical reality of pricing strategy that are not covered by theincumbent pricing models?” The research question has been studied qualitatively through a literaturereview, a pilot study and twelve case studies, where the pilot study had the purpose of exploring thedepth, whereas the multiple case studies focused on the breadth, of pricing strategies. The case studiescover businesses in different retail industries and of different sizes, namely the industries of Clothing &Accessories, Daily Goods, Furniture and Toys & Tools, and of the following sizes: micro, small, mediumand large. The empirical data has mainly been gathered by conducting interviews with production, salesand management personnel at the case businesses. The data has been structured, reduced and analysedwith the help of a framework of analysis that has been developed throughout the pilot study.The results of this study lean on previous research and a main divider in pricing strategies has beenidentified as businesses use either a data-driven or an intuition-driven approach in their strategic workwith pricing. As such, it is proposed that the division of pricing strategies need to be acknowledged, sincethe separate methodological approaches may lead to different results, while implying different costs,resources and required knowledge. Furthermore, the division may form a basis for competitive advantage,be extended to other areas of strategic management and become clearer, since the adoption of technologyand its impact will increase in the future. As a result, in the future of pricing, they key is going to be toaccount for both the strategic perspectives and the methodological approaches in the strategic decisionmaking process of pricing.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att genom en flerfallsstudie analysera och söka förståelse för sambanden mellan prissättningsstrategier och prissättningsmetoder som tillämpas hos företag som riktar sin verksamhet främst mot andra företag, B2B. Analysen av empirin sker med hjälp av redan existerande teorier om prisstrategier och prissättningsmetoder. Trots studiens fokus på ett visst företag inom en viss bransch är ändå förhoppningen att studiens slutsatser ska kunna vara av intresse för B2B-företag med samma kostnadsstrukturer. Metod: Ramen för studien utgörs av en deduktiv ansats med kvalitativ undersökningsdesign. Företagen i studien har studerats genom en flerfallsstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod för att insamla data. Teoretisk referensram: Uppsatsens teoretiska del innefattar teorier från företagsekonomisk forskning som förklarar vanliga prisstrategier, prissättningsmetoder och dess funktioner. Begreppen Price Waterfall och Strategic Fit har behandlats för att i analysen kunna se hur väl företagens övriga aktiviteter integrerar med prissättningsprocessen. Slutsats: Målet med denna studie är att besvara frågeställningen: Vilka samband finns det mellan prissättningsstrategier och prissättningsmetoder inom B2B-fötetag? Resultatet visar att det finns tydliga samband på flera områden. Det finns flera slutsatser att dra av denna studie, men den viktigaste slutsatsen är: För att vinstmaximera sina prisstrategier måste man hitta samband med flera olika prissättningsmetoder och arbeta med dessa på ett aktivt sätt i hela organisationen / Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and seek knowledge about the connection between pricing strategy and pricing methods in B2B companies. The analysis was conducted with help from already exciting theory about pricing strategy and pricing methods. Even though the study is conducted on a small amount of companies in a special branch, the ambition is that this thesis could be of interest for B2B-companies with the same structures of cost. Method: The thesis uses a deductive and qualitative approach. The data is collected from a case study conducted through semi-structured interviews. Theoretical framework: The base of the theoretical approach is a number of theories from business and specialist literature that have explained common pricing strategy and pricing methods. The concept of Price Waterfall and Strategic Fit is used to analyze how the companies’ activities integrate with the pricing process. Conclusion: The purpose of this study is to answer the question: What is the relationship between pricing strategies and pricing practices in B2B companies? The result shows that there are clear links in several areas. There are several conclusions to draw from this study, but the main conclusion is that to maximize profits the pricing strategies must be associated with several different pricing methods and work with them in an active way in the whole organization

How to price your offering is one of the main managerial decision issues today and is alarmingly often not grounded in necessary market and cost research. Pricing is a complex topic, dependent on a multitude of internal and external factors, which makes pricing practice and strategy alignment even more difficult. As a simplifying measure, pricing practices are commonly categorized into three categories: cost-based, competition-based and value-based pricing, of which value-based pricing is considered the superior practice by scholars. Consequently, the issue of how to adopt value-based pricing and how to actually price according to value is pertinent and a main focus of this thesis. What comprises perceived customer value, how a firm creates and captures value, and how a firm chooses to formulate the customer value proposition in order to communicate the generated value are all questions that this thesis investigates and attempts to answer. Furthermore, the effects of the customer-supplier relationship on pricing and change management aspects of a transition to value-based pricing are also investigated and analyzed. In order to answer the research purpose and accompanying research questions, a qualitative single case-study was conducted. The case company was a leading company in the TIC-market, who just recently had started discussing implementing value-based pricing and was therefore deemed as an appropriate case for this study. Empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with the employees as well as the customers of the case company. The analysis of the empirical data in conjunction with the theoretical framework led to a revised analytical model that attempts to explain the relations and correlations of the different concepts discussed in this thesis, as well as conclusions regarding the aforementioned research questions. This study concludes that the common value drivers are Quality, Delivery reliability, Delivery time, Price, Geographical location, Relationship and communication, Customization. Additionally, the study concludes that the alignment of pricing practice and strategy is heavily dependent on internal and external awareness, and it is of utmost importance for a firm engaging in value-based pricing to know not only their customer and market, but also their own capabilities and strengths. Regarding how to formulate the customer value proposition, the study concludes that it should be customized for the specific customer and have a resonating focus with elements of points of difference. Lastly, the study details the challenges that a firm transitioning to a value-based pricing practice might encounter, and the suggestive solutions to these obstacles.

The business climate is undergoing a transformation and managers are faced with several challenges, not the least of which is related to pricing strategy. With an increased transparency in the market as well as anincreased competitive pressure, and with more sophisticated and well-informed consumers, retail businesses find it hard to navigate the pricing jungle. At the same time, the conventional wisdom in the field of pricing and the theoretical models on the topic, originate from a time long before the digitalization. Old models are not a problem in itself, but when there are new forces in the pricing ecosystem, driven by technological advancement, an assessment of the incumbent models is in the best interest of both businesses and academia. The reason for this is that, the use of old models that rely on inaccurate assumptions may impact businesses’ prioritizing of resources or their overall business strategy. In addition, researchers might be distracted and the research field disrupted. Thus, the purpose of this study is to discuss whether or not there are additional dimensions in pricing strategy that are not covered by the incumbent pricing models. Here, dimensions refer to the key components of businesses’ strategic decision making in regards to pricing. This thesis examines pricing models in today’s business context in order to answer the research question: “Are there additional dimensions of the empirical reality of pricing strategy that are not covered by the incumbent pricing models?” The research question has been studied qualitatively through a literature review, a pilot study and twelve case studies, where the pilot study had the purpose of exploring the depth, whereas the multiple case studies focused on the breadth, of pricing strategies. The case studies cover businesses in different retail industries and of different sizes, namely the industries of Clothing & Accessories, Daily Goods, Furniture and Toys & Tools, and of the following sizes: micro, small, medium and large. The empirical data has mainly been gathered by conducting interviews with production, sales and management personnel at the case businesses. The data has been structured, reduced and analysed with the help of a framework of analysis that has been developed throughout the pilot study. The results of this study lean on previous research and a main divider in pricing strategies has been identified as businesses use either a data-driven or an intuition-driven approach in their strategic work with pricing. As such, it is proposed that the division of pricing strategies need to be acknowledged, since the separate methodological approaches may lead to different results, while implying different costs, resources and required knowledge. Furthermore, the division may form a basis for competitive advantage, be extended to other areas of strategic management and become clearer, since the adoption of technology and its impact will increase in the future. As a result, in the future of pricing, they key is going to be to account for both the strategic perspectives and the methodological approaches in the strategic decision making process of pricing. / Affärsklimatet genomgår en omvandling och företagsledare står inför flera utmaningar, inte minst utmaningar som är relaterade till prissättningsstrategi. Med en alltmer transparent marknad och en ökad konkurrens företag emellan samt en mer sofistikerad och välinformerad konsument, finner företagen i detaljhandeln det svårt att navigera i prissättningsdjungeln. Samtidigt härrör den konventionella visdomen inom prissättning och de teoretiska modellerna på samma ämne från en tid långt innan digitaliseringen. Gamla modeller är inte ett problem i sig, men när det finns nya krafter i prissättningens ekosystem, som drivs på av teknologisk utveckling, är en omprövning av de befintliga modellerna i både företag och akademikers intresse. Användningen av gamla modeller som bygger på felaktiga antaganden kan dock inverka på företagens prioritering av resurser eller på deras övergripande affärsstrategi. Dessutom kan forskare distraheras och forskningsfältet störas. Syftet med denna studie är således att diskutera huruvida det finns ytterligare dimensioner i prissättningsstrategi som inte omfattas av de befintliga prissättningsmodellerna. Här avser dimensioner nyckelkomponenter i företagens strategiska beslutsfattande när det gäller prissättning. Denna avhandling undersöker prissättningsmodellerna i dagens affärssammanhang för att svara på frågan: "Finns det ytterligare dimensioner av den empiriska verkligheten av prissättningsstrategi som inte omfattas av de befintliga prissättningsmodellerna?" Forskningsfrågan har studerats kvalitativt genom en litteraturgranskning, en pilotstudie och tolv fallstudier, där pilotstudien hade till syfte att utforska djupet, medan de flera fallstudierna inriktades på bredden, av prissättningsstrategier. Fallstudierna omfattar företag i industrin för detaljhandeln och företag av olika storlekar, nämligen inom detaljhandeln för Kläder & Accessoarer, Dagligvaror, Möbler och Leksaker & Verktyg, och av följande storlekar: mikro, små, medelstora och stora. Den empiriska datan har huvudsakligen insamlats med hjälp av intervjuer med produktions- och försäljningspersonal samt företagsledare hos företagen i fallstudierna. Uppgifterna har strukturerats, reducerats och analyserats med hjälp av en analysram som har utvecklats under pilotstudien. Resultaten av denna studie tar rygg på tidigare forskning och en huvuddelare i prissättningsstrategier har identifierats, eftersom företag använder antingen ett data-drivet eller ett intuition-drivet tillvägagångssätt i sitt strategiska arbete med prissättning. Som sådan föreslås att uppdelningen av prissättningsstrategier måste tas hänsyn till eftersom de separata metodologiska metoderna kan leda till olika resultat, samtidigt som de innebär olika kostnader samt kräver olika resurser och nödvändig förkunskap. Dessutom kan uppdelningen ligga till grund för konkurrensfördel, utvidgas till andra strategiska områden för företagsledare och bli tydligare, eftersom teknikens utbredning och påverkan kommer att öka i framtiden. Som en följd av detta kommer nyckeln i framtidens strategiska prissättning att vara att ta hänsyn till både de strategiska perspektiven och de metodologiska metoderna i den strategiska beslutsprocessen för prissättning.