Multi-homing in B2B services: a psychological perspective

Abstract

Purpose Extant literature on business-to-business (B2B) has largely ignored studying multi-homing through a psychological lens. This paper aims to outline the results of three constituent studies, which were designed to reveal potential differences in multi-homers’ versus single-homers’ loyalty behaviors in a B2B and supply chain management (SCM) setting; identify factors that differentiate single-homers and multi-homers in these settings; and examine the relevance and effect of perceived risk on multi-homing behaviors. Design/methodology/approach In Studies 1 and 2, the authors used a questionnaire-based survey to capture the perceptions of 503 and 458 SCM experts, respectively. They then deployed AMOS v.21 to perform structural equation modeling. In Study 3, the authors used a mixed-methods approach to interview 18 SCM experts and then applied these insights to a survey with 242 SCM experts. Findings Study 1 reveals that multi-homers’ loyalty toward their preferred SP has a weaker effect on willingness to pay premium prices and share-of-wallet than single-homers’ loyalty. Study 2 establishes that several attitudinal factors distinguish multi-homers from single-homers in a loyalty framework. Study 3 concludes that perceived risk dimensions promote multi-homing intention, which in turn promotes multi-homing behavior. Originality/value Through empirical investigation, the present research succeeds in establishing that multi-homing is a concern for SPs, deciphering the attitudinal factors that distinguish multi-homers and single-homers in a loyalty framework, and confirming the influence of perceived risk dimensions on multi-homing. Thus, the study has several theoretical and practical implications for B2B services in emerging economies.

Modeling a New Supplier Preference Paradigm: A Business-to-Business and African Developing Economy Context

“…Therefore, the study addresses Qazi and Appolloni [27], Salam and Bajaba [61], and Manchanda and Deb's [63] mandate for additional inquiry on SCM, marketing, and B2B procurement operations across multiple industries and/or in developing countries. Furthermore, the newly proposed B2B supplier preference model and the corresponding discussion above should help to lessen the risk in an everchanging and volatile economic climate, especially in developing countries, which also fulfills the request for the development of new B2B procurement models and adds significant value to B2B supplier and procurement discourse [63][64][65][66][67].…”

“…Nilsson and Göransson [22], Voola [25], Difrancesco et al [55], Cherian and Arun [60], and Mufti and Aprianingsih [62] reveal that various economies and sectors have divergent B2B procurement, supplier, and marketing needs, so further research is necessary across countries, economies, and industries. Manchanda and Deb [63] confirm that B2B procurement studies should consider buyers across multiple industries, which should not be limited to individual industries and sectors. Salam and Bajaba [61] also affirm that additional research on SCM, marketing, and procurement is necessary in developing countries.…”

“…As previously mandated, the study makes an original theoretical contribution in terms of the new sustainable B2B procurement framework, viz., environmental (planet) [21,22,[24][25][26], social (people) [22,25,51,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59], and economical (profit) factors [23,50] via the development of a new B2B supplier preference model [27,63,[65][66][67] and the assessment of the various procurement/supplier factor associations [21][22][23]25,51,55,60,61,64] in a multisector and African developing country context [22,25,55,[60][61][62][63]. The study added to the TBL sustainability framework and 3P theory by identifying a number of associations between the various planet, people, and profit pillars.…”

“…Mohan [64] reviewed 188 papers and identified a number of important B2B buying research topics that warrant further research, viz., B2B relationship marketing, organization relationship, and sales and personal selling. Several inquiries propose that in a climate of uncertainty and risk, new B2B procurement models should be developed to mitigate these circumstances, especially in developing countries [63,[65][66][67]. This study endeavors to address a number of the aforementioned research gaps and make an original contribution by conducting additional research that considers B2B procurement, supplier, and the TBL framework elements from a developing country perspective.…”

“…This study endeavors to address a number of the aforementioned research gaps and make an original contribution by conducting additional research that considers B2B procurement, supplier, and the TBL framework elements from a developing country perspective. Hence, there is a need for this study, which is justified via literature, since it investigates new sustainable B2B procurement environmental [21,22,[24][25][26], social [22,25,51,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59], and economical factors [23,50] and/or constructs [21][22][23]25,51,55,60,61,64], uses a large sample size [21,22,25,[50][51][52], and seeks to develop a new supplier preference model [27,63,[65][66][67] in an African developing country across various industries [22,25,55,[60][61][62][63]. To determine the aforementioned points, the researcher believed that instead of being prescriptive (that is, looking at the problem from a ...…”