Subjective perception of power in B2B negotiations – An empirical study within the German automotive industry

Power in buyer-seller negotiations is an often-discussed topic in academic research. Although many approaches to determine the root cause for buyer and seller power exist, they all reveal the same shortcomings: Power is considered too one-dimensional and impact factors are neither allocated consistently to buyer and seller side across the studies nor weighted. To close the research gap, we conducted a Conjoint Analysis with purchasing and sales experts in order to create a framework that allows a distinct understanding of both buyer and seller power. First results illustrate the importance of alternative suppliers for the buyer power, but also indicate that the added utility for the overall power only increases marginal with additional suppliers.