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Convention suggests that individuals are often driven by emotions to purchase consumer products (Richins, 1997; Raghunathan; et al. , 2006). However, organizational buying behavior has often been treated as a rational activity (Patti et al. , 1991), even though humans are involved in the decision-making. Human decision-making often includes a complex cadre of emotions and rationalizations. Subsequently, organizational buyers may not only be driven by logic, testing and facts, but also by emotions (Bagozzi, 2006). These emotions are inherent in connections created through customer-brand relationships as well as salesperson interactions (Singh and Venugopal, 2015).
Industry research shows that many organizational buyers possess a personal connection to business-to-business (B2B) brands (Corporate Executive Board Company, 2013). The data indicate that buyers with strong personal connections to B2B brands have higher rates of consideration, purchase and are less price sensitive (Corporate Executive Board Company, 2013). A strong personal connection may be integral in the organizational buying decision-making process because perceived risks are often high. For example, if a purchase is not successful, then time and credibility may be lost, and in some circumstances, the possibility of job loss may be imminent.
Although organizational buyers must see the functional value of a product or brand, companies need to consider ways in which brands can connect with buyers on an emotional and personal level. The academic literature has provided limited insight on the role of emotions in organizational buying (Bagozzi, 2006; Kemp et al. , 2013; Kidwell et al. , 2007). As suggested by Kadic-Maglajlic et al. (2016), Borg and Johnston (2013) and Guo and Ng (2012), emotions have a strong influence on buyer-seller relationships and can lead to specific selling behaviors. In terms of social media, B2B marketers must be aware of content created by users, whether internal or external, because this type of communication may be generated and consumed on a much more personal, albeit emotional, level than traditional mass communication media (Huotari et al. , 2015; Lee, 2013). For example, YouTube videos, Twitters and blogs generate both positive and negative emotions that can influence sellers, as well as buyers. Guidance and direction is needed in understanding what emotions are experienced in the buying cycle and how these emotions impact decision-making. This research attempts to address the...