Open Access

Anna Romano

• A comprehensive buying center analysis is an essential task for marketers who really want to understand the purchasing process of organizations which is usually characterized by group buying decisions. In the first step, it is important to identify the different stakeholders participating in a buying decision for a product or service, whereas in the second step the individuals’ relationships within the group structure and their influence behavior on the outcome should be analyzed. The obtained customer insights are key for prioritizing influential members and focusing marketing efforts on their criteria and interests to make sure that the final buying decision will positively affecting the selling organization. Due to the ongoing chances in healthcare, the medical device industry is one of the sectors increasingly dealing with complex buying center structures within hospitals. Therefore, also in the specific case of B Braun Aesculap and the development of its new orthopedic business model One Knee Vision for knee replacement procedures it has become indispensable to carry out an investigation of customer’s decision making unit. In order to a deliver a theoretical framework which enables to identify and analyze the buying center characteristics, the first part of this paper presents important fundamentals related to this research topic. It also covers the progressing digitalization aspect of sales activities and the resulting potential for supporting and optimizing buying center analyzes. Based on those theoretical facts, the second part focuses on B Braun Aesculap and the practical question of hospitals’ buying center in the United States regarding the purchase of a knee replacement system. In this context, a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods is employed. The findings are subsequently explained by specific influence factors and used to point out the effects for purchasing decisions which come along with the identified buying center structure. A closing interpretation of all results allows the derivation of recommendations for a successful One Knee Vision marketing strategy.