Trends in Business Markets

BY Rajdeep Grewal  Gary L. Lilien

Published online: 24 June 2015

#Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

while commerce between firms, i.e., business or B2B markets is roughly comparable in monetary terms to the commerce between firms and consumers (B2C), the volume of high-quality academic research devoted to issues in B2B pales in comparison to that focused on B2C.Our goal with this special issue is a focus on important new research in this understudied domain. The special issue comprises four articles a perspective piece, which we coauthored with several of our esteemed colleagues, and three research articles. Our overview piece lays out our thoughts on the agenda for research in business markets, so we will keep this  introduction brief. (Note that in line with journal policy, the articles appear in alphabetical order

based on the last name of the first author of the article). The first article in the special issue is the perspective piece by Grewal et al. that lays out challenges and opportunities associated with understanding and managing buying behavior in B2B markets. The authors identify four trends that are affecting the nature of B2B buying and the associated research needs: the changing landscape of B2B buying, the increasing sophistication of buyers, the impact of technological changes,and the increasing impact and growth of emerging markets. For each of these trends, the authors provide an overview of the domain, a conceptual framework and a research agenda