Pricing as an Organizational Process - A case study on organizational characteristics affecting the pricing process

Abstract: For a long time there has been a gap between the performed research and what companies experience with respect to pricing processes. Currently, there is no extensive research in the subject; still many companies are working with the problem, both directly and indirectly. Instead of focusing on the process of pricing, most studies emphasize pricing strategies. Consequently, the goal of this essay is to begin the pursuit of filling this void by mapping companies' pricing processes. In order to do this, the question that must be answered is "Are there any particular organizational characteristics that affect the structure of pricing processes in companies " This essay attempts to answer the question by performing four case studies on the companies ABB Robotics, Coop Butiker & Stormarknader AB, Autotube AB and Ebookers Scandinavia AB. In order to compare the findings with an external view, a professional pricing consultant at PriceGain AB was interviewed. The investigation shows that the characteristics that actually do affect the pricing process are transaction value, product complexity, organizational structure, degree of centralization and pricing strategy. Furthermore, conclusions were drawn regarding non-influencing characteristics; company turnover, type of customer and type of product do not have any effect on the pricing process. However, much research remains and this essay stands as a basis for further investigations in this area of the marketing subject.