Toward a model of business-to-business marketing communications effects

Inherent differences between business-to-business marketing and consumer marketing results in important differences in. how marketing communications tools are processed and acted on by their targets. A model of business-to-business mar keying communications effects should consider these differences and adequately explain both internal reactions to advertisements and externally directed influence toward other members of a buying center. We suggest a typology of contextual differences between consumer and business-ro-business marketing communications and develop art explanatory model of business-to-business marketing communications effects. The model is congruent with both existing buying center behavior models and an information processing approach to attitude formation. Both emotional and cognitive responses to marketing communications stimuli are related to personal influence attempts within an organizational buying center Finally, a research agenda is proposed and practical implications for marketing managers are discussed. (C) Elsevier Science Inc., 1997