Investigating Perceive Value in B2B Setting

Value is fundamental in business-to-business marketing, where marketing revolves around the term value. Understanding the value of offering through customers' eyes is important for business success. Due to the subjective nature of value, it's imperative to understand the value based on the customer's individual interpretation. In this context, perceived value plays a central theme for this study, and analyzed in the terms of benefits and sacrifices. But to capture the broader picture of customers' value functional, social, and emotional perceived values were considered. The research questions were formed to investigate the kind of values that customers perceive, and another question was framed to investigate the multidimensionality of values. In order to answer the research questions, a qualitative descriptive approach was applied and through judgmental sampling, respondents were chosen. The five potential customers were interviewed through semi-structured technique. The authors applied the model “value hierarchy” to investigate the customer's perceived value which consists of three layers: attributes, consequences and objects; it shows correlation among the three layers. The laddering technique was used in connection with hierarchy, through this technique authors understood how consumers were able to perceive value in each layer. The tangibilization strategy was used to provide cues that helped build mental construct of services in customer’s minds. Customers assess the services by evaluating its value. The value from the consequences were perceived multidimensionally by customers depending on the attributes. Customers perceived functional value in aspects of saving time and ease of workload. They were able to perceive value socially, when some features helped manage stress among the employees and through provision of these services to end customers saw an increase in firm awareness in the market. Customers also felt a feeling of happiness when using certain attributes especially among the end customers thereby bringing emotional value into the picture. All the different values perceived helped reach their respective end-goals. The model found useful to investigate the customer value sequentially, also evaluating current customer’s needs. The study revealed that the attributes aren't chosen without a purpose. Customers perceive some benefits from the attributes that help achieve their specific needs. The study was confirmation about integrating the model with different value dimensions helped determine the connection of these dimensions with customer value. The study ends with presenting managerial, theoretical and practical implications and provides ground for future research in exploring other framework of values, followed by limitations of the study