3.ongoingsearch_jbr2006

59 (2006) 1151–1159
Journal of Business Research
Ongoing search among industrial buyers

Stefania Borghini a,b,⁎, Francesca Golfetto a,b, Diego Rinallo a

a Business Management Department, Università Bocconi, Via Filippetti 9, 20122 Milan, Italyb SDA Bocconi School of Management, Area Marketing, via Bocconi 8, 20136 Milano, Italy

Received 1 December 2005; received in revised form 1 June 2006; accepted 30 August 2006

Abstract

Literature on organizational buying behavior pays little attention to ongoing search, i.e., information search activities that are independent ofspecific purchase decisions. This study employs ethnographic methods to investigate the nature of ongoing search in the context of trade shows. Thestudy contributes to the literature on information search among industrial buyers by highlighting its bias in favor of search processes that lead to short-term purchases. The research findings have strong implications for trade show scholarship, as they cast a critical light on the “received view” on howto effectively select, manage andmeasure returns on trade show investments. This article offers a more complex and nuanced view of visitor behaviorat trade shows and introduces a broader perspective on the significance of these events for their underlying markets.© 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Ongoing search; Trade shows; Visitors behavior; Rituals; Ethnography

1. Introduction

Companies need to know the relative importance their custo-mers assign to information sources in order to optimize theallocation of the usually limited resources available forpromotion. Previous literature has investigated buyers' percep-tions of the importance of different communication tools (e.g.,Turnbull, 1974; Parasuraman, 1981; Deeter-Schmelz andKennedy, 2002), but these studies focus on pre-purchase orpurchase situations (in other words, information gathering for aspecific purchase problem). In contrast with studies of consumerbehavior, literature on organizational buying behavior (Websterand Wind, 1972; Sheth, 1973; Bunn, 1993) pays little attentionto “ongoing search”, i.e., search activities that are independent ofbuying decisions (Bloch et al., 1986). Only literature regardingtrade shows – which represent some of the most importantinfluential sources of information among industrial buyers –provides evidence of this phenomenon: visitors often attendtrade shows for reasons unrelated (or, at best, only weakly

⁎ Corresponding author. Business Management Department, UniversitàBocconi, Via Filippetti 9, 20122 Milan, Italy.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Borghini),[email protected] (F. Golfetto), [email protected](D. Rinallo).

0148-2963/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.06.005

related) to purchase decisions (e.g., Bello, 1992; Bello andLohtia, 1993; Godar and O'Connor, 2001).

The phenomenon of ongoing search among industrial buyersposes interesting challenges to the way companies traditionallymanage their trade show participations or measure returns ontrade show investments. What if the booth personnel does notdedicate sufficient attention to “curious” visitors who are notinterested in an immediate purchase? What if a company stopsexhibiting at a trade show where most visitors are already cus-tomers? Academic literature suggests concentrating effort onmembers of buying centers (Bello and Lohtia, 1993) and mea-suring returns on investments based on the number of attendeesfrom target audiences who actually make purchases followingtheir visit (Gopalakrishna and Lilien, 1995; Smith et al., 2004).Yet, visitors engaged in an on-going search are not curious,and focusing on short-term returns could be considered myopic.

This paper contributes to the literature on the buyer searchprocess by investigating the behavior of industrial buyers asthey look for relevant information in the context of trade shows.Methodologically, this study differs from conventional appro-aches in business-to-business marketing since it is based onthe use of ethnographic methods, which are increasinglycommon in consumer marketing and research. The researchfindings illuminate the nature of ongoing search and providemanagerial implications that cast a critical light on the ‘received

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.06.005

1152 S. Borghini et al. / Journal of Business Research 59 (2006) 1151–1159

view’ on how to effectively select, manage and measure returnson trade shows.

2. Literature review

Studies of information search by industrial buyers build on aconsolidated tradition in the literature that dates back to thepioneering work of the 1960s and 1970s. Taken together, extantresearch (for a review, see Moriarty and Spekman, 1984;Lichtental et al., 1997) provides practitioners with a richunderstanding of how to define a company's promotional mix,as communication instruments and message contents can bemodulated according to buyers' information needs (Turnbull,1974; Bello, 1992; Godar and O'Connor, 2001). Subsequentliterature investigates factors influencing the use of specificinformation sources during the purchasing process, highlightingfor example the relevance of product typology (Jackson et al.,1987), buyer's stage in the purchasing process (Moriarty andSpekman, 1984; Brossard, 1998) and characteristics of thepurchasing situation (Bunn, 1993). Other studies draw attentionto the role of personal as opposed to impersonal sources (e.g.,Parasuraman and Zeithaml, 1983; Wheiler, 1987), the rationalefor adapting the promotional mix to the different members ofthe buying center (e.g., Bello, 1992; Godar and O'Connor,2001) and the impact of the Internet revolution on industrialpurchase decisions (e.g., Deeter-Schmelz and Kennedy, 2002).

Despite their relevance for the theoretical understanding ofindustrial buyer behavior, most of these studies focus only onpre-purchase or purchase situations (Webster and Wind, 1972;Sheth, 1973; Bunn, 1993) and fail to analyze the ongoing in-formation search process which occurs irrespective of whether apurchase decision is being taken (Bloch et al., 1986). Literatureon trade shows –which are considered one of the most importantmeans industrial buyers use to collect information (Parasura-man, 1981; Godar and O'Connor, 2001) – has, on the other handidentified numerous reasons for attendance not directly corre-lated with purchasing processes.

Current buyers may look for information after a purchase toreduce cognitive dissonance rather than to find new products orsuppliers (Godar and O'Connor, 2001). Industrial buyers maylearn about the range of available products/services to gain newideas for future use (e.g., Dudley, 1990; Munuera and Ruiz,1999). Influencers of a buying center may gather information topreserve their credibility within their organizations (Krapfel,1985). Moreover, non-buyers may be interested in gatheringinformation about industry or technological evolutions (e.g.,Morris, 1988; Dudley, 1990; Rosson and Seringhaus, 1995;Godar and O'Connor, 2001). From a relational point of view,visitors and exhibitors use trade shows to develop and work onexisting business relationships (Blythe, 2002). In addition, allvisitors presumably attend trade shows to establish and maintainrelationships (e.g., Hansen, 1996; Godar and O'Connor, 2001)and to reduce the social as well as the technological distance fromsellers (Ford, 1980).

While industrial marketing scholarship provides indirectevidence about the existence of ongoing search processes amongindustrial buyers, not much is known about the determinants,

motives, practice, and outcomes of these processes. This is a gapthat should be overcome in order to help suppliers avoid the riskof adopting short-sighted communication strategies and reduc-ing the effectiveness of trade shows and other marketingcommunication instruments as vehicles for networking andrelationship building.

3. Method

The goal of the present study is to investigate visitor behaviorat trade shows in order to theorize about the nature of ongoingsearch processes in industrial markets. As the information searchprocesses of industrial buyers at trade shows – usually depictedas cognitive activities – manifest themselves in physicalbehaviors that can be observed and whose meaning can beelicited as they occur, this study relies on ethnographic methods(Arnould and Wallendorf, 1994). Together with other interpre-tive research methods, ethnography is increasingly diffused in“mainstream” marketing and consumer research. In these dis-ciplines, scholars have challenged the bias of the dominantparadigm in favor of quantitative methods by questioning themost common misunderstanding associated to qualitativeresearch, i.e. the study of particular contexts as ends inthemselves, the lack of managerial implications and the refusalto use quantitative measures (Arnould and Thompson, 2005). Inthe field of business-to-business marketing, ethnographicapproaches are still unconventional, but scholars have recentlyadvocated the use of interpretive methods to make sense ofindustrial markets (Cova and Salle, 2003; Gummesson, 2003)and discover new phenomena that more conventionalapproaches would fail to recognize. Moreover, as studies ofconsumer trade fairs are available in previous literature(Peñaloza, 2000, 2001), the research benefited from the presencein the literature of rigorous methodological benchmarks thatimproved the quality of the research design.

The empirical field consisted of eleven European trade showsdedicated to different phases of the textile–apparel (yarns,fabrics, textile technology; accessories, apparel) and wood–furniture (semifinished products and accessories; wood-workingtechnology; furniture) industries, held between May 2002 andFebruary 2005, that in some cases the researchers visited for twoconsecutive editions (see Table 1). As common in ethnographicapproaches, multiplemethods and techniqueswere used to collectand analyze data (e.g., Arnould and Wallendorf, 1994; Sherry,1995). Besides the field activities, quantitative datawere collectedfrom the archives of the leading Italian trade show organizer, whoprovided the results of visitor surveys regarding events held inMilan in 2003 and 2004. The research findings thus result fromthe combination of two data sets: a qualitative one that includesthe interview transcriptions, field notes, photographs and videosmost often associated to ethnographic research, and a quantitativeone that was analyzed to provide support to the ideas and insightsgenerated during the fieldwork.

The research team for the fieldwork consisted of 6 researcherswho conducted extensive participant observation for the entireduration of each trade show (from 1 to 3–4 days). This includedthe realization of pictures, videos and field notes on various

Table 1The trade shows investigateda

Trade show Location and dates N. and typology of exhibitors N. professional visitors

Pitti Filati Florence (I) 104 (12.5% foreign) 6953 (36.5% foreign)4–6 Feb 2004 Yarn and fabric producers Mainly apparel producers

Moda In (two editions) Milan (I) 398 (22.6% foreign) 17,776 (14.9% foreign)9–11 Feb 2004 Fabrics, embroideries, and fashion

accessories producersMainly apparel producers

8–10 Sep 2004Pitti Uomo (two editions) Florence (I) 793 (35.6% foreign) 26,173 (34.3% foreign)

8–11 Jan 2004 Men's wear producers Mainly retailers12–15 Jan 2005

NeoZone (two editions) Milan (I) 131 5647 (26.6% foreign)27 Feb–1 Mar 2004 Mainly women's wear producers Mainly retailers24–27 Feb 2005

White (two editions) Milan (I) 42 3020 (23.3% foreign)27 Feb – 1 Mar 2004 Mainly women's wear producers Mainly retailers24–27 Feb 2005

Cloudnine Milan (I),24–27 Feb 2005

39 (56.4% foreign)Mainly women'saccessories producers

3240Mainly retailers

Sasmil Milan (I) 406 (22.4% foreign) 87,095 (49.6% foreign)26–30 May 2004 Accessories and semi-finished products for

the furniture industryFurniture producers

ZOW Pordenone (I) 600 (25% foreign) 16,349 (17.8% foreign)20–23 Oct 2004 Accessories and semi-finished products for

the furniture industryFurniture producers

Salone del Mobile Milan (I),14–19 Apr 2004

1498 (15.6% foreign)Furnishing, design,household goods, lights

189,655 (52.6% foreign)Mainly retailers

Xylexpo Milan (I) Woodworking technology producers 87,095 (49.6% foreign)26–30 May 2004 Woodworking, furniture

production industriesLIGNA+ Hannover (D) 1720 (50.5% foreign) 98,267 (40.8% foreign)

26–30 May 2003 Woodworking technology producers Forestry, woodworking,furniture production industries

a When we investigated more editions of the same trade show, data about exhibitors and visitors refer to the first edition we visited.

1153S. Borghini et al. / Journal of Business Research 59 (2006) 1151–1159

aspects of the exhibitions (e.g., locations, structure of exhibits,visitor/exhibitor behavior). For some of the events, a significantpart of the time spent in the field was devoted to tracking theexperience of one to two informants during their visit (usuallyfor 1 or 2 days). In other words, members of the research teamfollowed the informants during their activities and whennecessary asked them to explain the motivation behind theirbehaviors. This helped researchers to “see the world” (at least tosome extent) in the same way as the informants and to establishan empathic relationship with them. While the focus was onvisitors, to have a complete picture it was also necessary toobserve and interview suppliers/exhibitors at the events and, in afew occasions, the trade show organizers.

The fieldwork resulted in nearly 80 researcher-days offield experience, over 180 interviews of various length withvisitors and exhibitors, more than 20 h of video and severalhundred pictures. This work gave rise to more than 800 pagesof field notes and interview transcriptions. The qualitativedata were subsequently analyzed through an iterative processfollowing the interpretive methodology proposed by Spiggle(1994) and Arnould and Wallendorf (1994). Triangulationbetween quantitative and qualitative data and the applicationof member checking resulted in a representation of researchfindings (Stern, 1998) that all members of the research groupshared.

A final caveat regards the nature of the research findingsreported in the section that follows. In some cases, interpreta-tions are near to the worldviews of informants and are reinforcedwith the help of verbatim transcriptions. In interpretive research,this is considered an emic standpoint that reflects the processthrough which researchers are socialized in the culture of theirinformants to such a degree as to be able to obtain an empathicunderstanding of their lived experiences (Berry, 1989). In othercases, researchers distance themselves from informants andmake sense of the informant views from their own vantage pointof marketing scholars. This is an etic standpoint that reflects thecultural categories and knowledge of previous literature thatwere employed to interpret emic research findings (Berry, 1989).By favoring etic interpretations, it is possible to theoreticallygeneralize the research findings beyond the empirically situatedcontexts that have been explored.

4. Main findings: the nature of ongoing search in industrialmarkets

The main findings of the present study may be categorized asfollows: (1) different visitors and motives to attend trade shows;(2) outcomes of ongoing search processes; (3) the experientialnature of ongoing search at trade shows; (4) the ritual dimensionof visitor behavior.

Table 3Main attendance motives for visitors from buying firms a

Trade shows Makingpurchases (%)

Getting informed,knowing the market,seeing novelties (%)

Totalsampleb

A) TS dedicated to trade (retailers, wholesalers, importers, …)Micam 04 29 71 78Mipel 04 21 63 80Momi 04 34 63 71Moda Prima 04 52 43 21Mifur 04 32 68 40Salone del Mobile 04 35 63 112Macef 04 44 54 118

On average 34 62 520

B) TS dedicated to industrial usersXylexpo 04 20 78 187Fluidtrans Compomac 04 9 86 95Sasmil 04 16 75 152Moda In 03 67 31 61


Source: Authors' elaboration on Fondazione Fiera Milano data.a Totals do not amount to 100% because we omitted other marginal reasons

to visit.b The sample is made of visitors from buying firms.


4.1. Different visitors and motives to attend trade shows

A first result of interest concerns the composition of tradeshow audiences. The research findings clearly show that not allvisitors belong to buying centers, as they are not interested oreven indirectly involved in purchasing processes. While thepresence of atypical visitors is discussed by previous research(e.g., Bello, 1992; Bello and Lohtia, 1993; Hansen, 1996; Godarand O'Connor, 2001), the magnitude of this phenomenon isgreater than previously believed (see Table 2). In a few cases,atypical visitors represent even more than 50% of trade showaudiences. Moreover, the variance in the presence of atypicalvisitors is significant: it was found, for example, that tradeshows dedicated to retailers are more likely to attract atypicalvisitors than events for industrial users.

Atypical visitors are mostly exhibitors' suppliers, exhibitors'competitors, and firms operating in related industries. Thereasons why trade shows attract these typologies of visitorsare various. For example, exhibitors' suppliers collect marketintelligence on downstream sectors and try to establishcontacts for future sales. Exhibitors' competitors typicallyundertake competitive intelligence activities. Operators fromrelated industries try to verify whether their own strategicchoices are aligned with those of exhibitors, e.g., fashionaccessory producers may assess to what extent colors andpatterns of their new collections are compatible with thoseof apparel producers. As these visitors are beyond the scopeof the present study, interested readers are directed to otherwork (Borghini et al., 2004). However, this study pointsout that the greater the atypical to typical visitor ratio, themore likely exhibitors are to question the effectiveness ofa given trade show to attract visitors, as they may beannoyed by the presence of, to use their words, “too manycurious people”.

According to the evidence in the quantitative database, eventypical visitors who are members of buying centers are often

Table 2Compositions of trade shows audience

Trade show % Buying center % Atypical visitors Total visitorsample (n)

A) TS dedicated to trade (retailers, wholesalers, exporters, …)Micam 04 77 23 101Mipel 04 78 22 103Momi 04 71 29 100Moda Prima 04 42 58 50Mifur 04 80 20 50Salone del Mobile 04 41 59 274Macef 04 77 23 153


B) TS dedicated to Industrial usersXylexpo 04 81 19 231FluidtransCompomac 04

95 5 100

Sasmil 04 77 23 198Moda In 03 81 19 75


Source: Authors' elaboration on Fondazione Fiera Milano data.

uninterested in making a purchase. Figures in Table 3 stronglysupport the view that in most cases, the majority of members ofthe buying centers are involved in an ongoing search for infor-mation unrelated to specific purchases. That is, buying centerscould be better described as learning centers as purchases arenot their prime motivation to attend trade shows. The infor-mants declared that they attend trade shows to build a stock ofknowledge about products, suppliers and solutions for futurereferral; to meet and pay courtesy visits to known and regularsuppliers; to update professional skills and thus improve theircredibility within their organization; to get “inspiration” forproduct innovation; to take part in an important event in theindustry; to be part of the community; and to be reassured, intimes of crisis, by the presence of their suppliers and othercustomers. While previous literature reports some of these moti-vations (e.g., Rothschild, 1987; Morris, 1988; Dudley, 1990;Godar and O'Connor, 2001), this study reflects a more complexand nuanced view of industrial buyers.

Ongoing search is thus broad, as it does not concern justindividual products or suppliers. By investing in the luxury of asearch for information which is not of immediate utility, typicalvisitors make sense of the whole market and take a wide-rangingview of the context where future acts of purchase will be situated.Ongoing search is also generalized, as members of buyingcenters, while looking at the world through the idiosyncraticlenses of their occupational culture, tend to reach a sharedinterpretation of key market and technological developments.

4.2. The outcomes of ongoing search processes

This section reports the most relevant outcomes of the on-going search processes carried out in the context of trade shows.These outcomes are often not anticipated, as visitors often statethey find “the unexpected”. Previous literature on trade shows


discusses some of the outcomes reported below (e.g., Munueraand Ruiz, 1999; Godar and O'Connor, 2001; Blythe, 2002);however, even if previously investigated, the present articlediscusses these outcomes from the novel angle of industrialbuyers' ongoing search processes.

4.2.1. Unexpected knowledgeAs learning is one of the main reasons to attend, industrial

buyers often conceptualize outcomes of trade fair visits in termsof new knowledge about products, suppliers, market trends.Some of this knowledge is not even anticipated. According toone of the informants, “I don't know what I'll learn, but I knowthat I'll learn something new.” Often, visitors cannot assess thepractical value of what they learned in the short run: “You see adetail, you forget about it and, perhaps years later, you'llremember and call that supplier to see if he can help.” In otherwords, visiting a trade show is “a kind of insurance”, a way togather knowledge that could be useful in an unforeseen future.To this end, visitors do not even need to enter a stand and speakwith the booth personnel: while browsing along the trade showcorridors, they notice myriads of details, often unconsciously,and more than one informant referred to this as an “informationoverload”. Thus, after a trade show, visitors have learnt morethan they can tell.

Exhibitors do not contribute equally to visitors' ongoingsearch processes. Market leaders are the most important sourcesof knowledge about technological and market developments.Even if regular suppliers are the main interlocutors duringinnovation processes, during the ongoing search “it is, aboveall, the leading suppliers, not necessarily the habitual suppliers,which present the best innovations. Their presence is funda-mental in order to render the trade fair useful.” Visitors oftenconsider the absence of market leaders as a shortcoming of thetrade show as a whole.

4.2.2. InspirationMany of the informants talked about the moments of insight

they often experience in the context of trade shows. Duringvisits, something attracts the attention of visitors and stimulatesan arousal of the mind to a special creativity that often regardsthe solution to a problem or ideas for product/process inno-vation. Much like artists courting the Muses, visitors at tradeshows often find inspiration that fills them with enthusiasm asthey suddenly discover new opportunities, “When I come backto my office, I'm so full of ideas… It's terrible I won't be able topursue them all for lack of time…”

Far from their usual workplaces, routines and deadlines,visitors thus find “a stimulating environment” where they candedicate time to thinking creatively and pursuing new ideas.Sources of inspiration aremanifold, and include the new productspresented by suppliers, but also informal conversations withsuppliers, other visitors, co-workers. While exhibitors' messagesspread through product presentations, stand design, booth per-sonnel's sales pitch stimulate inspiration, the ideas visitors obtainfrom interactions from exhibitors can be quite dissimilar.Through chains of cognitive associations, visitors have insightswhich may be “completely unrelated” to exhibitor messages.

Trade show visits are thus transformative experiences whoseoutcomes go beyond exhibitors' communicative intentions.

4.2.3. ReassuranceAnother important output of trade show visits is reassurance

about current suppliers and products employed. Visitors oftenattend trade shows to confirm their existing suppliers (Godarand O'Connor, 2001) rather than to choose new ones. Sourceloyalty, which is usually strong in business markets (Morris andHolman, 1988), does not, however, reduce comparison betweenalternatives. Indeed, the buyers interviewed agreed that thepresence of their suppliers at the most important trade shows isindicative of up-to-date skills and an ability to “stay in themarket” (on this, see also Blythe, 2002).

Reassurance also comes from the observation of what othervisitors/customers do, as they are employed as important termsof comparison. Seeing what competitors order or how theyevaluate new products is useful in order to be reassured of – orgenerate dissonance on – decisions already taken. Alternativesuppliers or products thus become a topic of conversation forvisitors among themselves and, once they go back to theircompanies, with co-workers. The evaluation of alternatives isthus an ongoing process that lasts even after a purchase is madeand is also enacted in the context of established relationships.

4.2.4. Establishing and maintaining relationships with suppli-ers and other visitors

Visiting a trade shows also has social implications. Newpersonal and professional relationships may be established, andsocial ties within existing relationships may be maintained.Interaction with suppliers is valuable in order to reduce socialdistance and develop new knowledge. In most cases, buyers'only contact with suppliers consists of sales reps' visits: tradeshows represent an opportunity to meet the suppliers' entre-preneurs, marketing and sales managers, technical staff. With abrief conversation, problems that have lasted for months, if notyears, may be promptly solved. A face may be associated tovoices heard on the telephone and names read in e-mails. Oldacquaintances meet again and social ties are renewed. Face-to-face meetings with knowledge individuals and actors thus nur-ture ongoing search processes.

Interaction among visitors is a phenomenon that previousliterature on trade shows has not highlighted. For individualsholding positions of responsibility within firms, the possibilityto establish relationships with people holding similar positionsin other companies (e.g., other technicians, buyers, designers) isfundamental for the establishment of a community of practice.Trade shows provide a neutral setting for these interactions: afunction which is not often recognized, but that can be animportant motivation to visit.

4.3. The experiential nature of ongoing search at trade shows

During trade shows, buyers are “immersed” in an embodiedexperience that entails all their senses, where they can touch,smell, listen to, and even taste all the stimuli in the environmentprovided by exhibitors together with trade show organizers.


According to informants, what renders trade show experiencesmore meaningful is the opportunity to “touch the products”,“speak to the people” and “look at each other in the eyes”. Thissection makes sense of the different elements that can foster orhinder ongoing search processes in the context of trade showsby employing the concept of experience providers proposed bySchmitt (1999) in the literature on experiential marketing(Holbrook and Hirschmann, 1982; Pine and Gilmore, 1998,1999).

4.3.1. Suppliers' products and prototypeProducts are by far the most appreciated experience providers.

The possibility “to touch products” allows experienced buyers(e.g., those with a technical background) to understand how a newtooling machine or semifinished product will impact on theadopting firm's production processes and end products. Whenmoving through trade fairs' corridors, an “interesting product thatstands out in the crowd of countless booths” can induce visitors todeviate from their planned path. Some visitors in the capital goodssectors even ask exhibitors in advance which products they willshow and consequently decide whether to visit their stand or not.Recently, exhibitors have started showing examples of prototypesor products that could be obtained by using their machines orsemifinished products (e.g., clothes which can be made with thecompany's fabrics or yarns). This type of presentation attractsmost interest among buyers, because through such presentations,they can read the supplier's specialist skills. Allowing buyers totake away samples or prototypes, so bringing a part of theirexperience back into the company, is particularly appreciated(Picture 1). In these situations, where there are numerous stimuliand little possibility to filter them, an overload of the senses istypical. Samples, prototypes and the accompanying documenta-tion thus function as souvenirs able to re-evoke experiences thatwill be more easily shared with co-workers not present at theevent.

4.3.2. Human resources and opportunities to establishrelations

Many buyers believe that trade shows constitute a “neutral”environment where customers can interact with supplier employ-

Picture 1. Collecting product samples. Source: Pitti Immagine.

ees beyond sales staff or distributors. According to the buyers, theopportunity to speak to the supplier's technical personnel is initself a good return on the investment to visit the supplier. Thesecontacts between suppliers' and customers' technicians result in“communities of practice”which allow those involved to get ideasfor innovation, discuss common problems, obtain solutions, ex-change favors and, above all, circulate (generally tacit) know-ledge. Customers appreciate the convivial opportunities offeredby exhibitors as part of the business relation. Such occasions may“create a sense of familiarity with the supplier's staff which helpsto establish friendly relations”, facilitating the exchange of know-ledge and overcoming the relational problems that may haveemerged over time.

4.3.3. Sharing experiences and socializing with other buyersThe presence of other buyers during trade shows is considered

stimulating by customers. For example, a textile trade showorganizer placed facilities for relaxation close to the research area(a space that summarizes the main trends for the season) that weregreatly appreciated by visiting designers from apparel companies.By stimulating casual meetings and social interactions, these“relaxation areas” permitted visitors to exchange views on thenew fashion trends and to keep updated with the news – changesin management or strategies at top firms, competitive moves fromrivals based in emerging countries and, above all, gossip. Therelational opportunities offered by trade shows can thus alsoproduce horizontal communities of practice between specialistsfrom different functions. People with specific positions withincompanies (designers, researchers, technicians, and buyers) canmeet colleagues from other companies and establish contacts andrelations which, ultimately, enhance professional expertise andhelp to resolve common problems.

4.4. The ritual dimension of visitor behavior

While current theory on trade shows stresses the instrumentalnature of participating in trade shows, these findings suggestthat in most cases participating in long-standing trade shows isan institutionalized activity, i.e., one “infused with value beyondthe technical requirements at hand” (Selznick, 1957, p. 17). Thesearch for information of not immediate usefulness may thus bethe ex post rationalization of a behavior whose roots are in theneo-tribal need of periodically meeting and interacting withsimilar others belonging to different organizations. Severalinformants, when asked about the reasons for being at the tradeshow, replied that “we have to be here to meet all the others”,“coming here is a must”, “it's very sad if you miss one edition,you feel you lost something important”.

Institutionalization processes are possible because tradeshows are recurring events which take place with a frequencylinked to the length of the innovation cycle in their underlyingmarkets, i.e. biannual in the textile–apparel industry, annual inmost others, biennial or even quadriennial in the case of capitalgoods (Golfetto, 2004). Regular visitors' behavioral patternsshow, edition after edition, remarkable similarities in terms ofpaths covered in trade fairs, stands visited, people talked to, etc.Like the rituals investigated by anthropologists, trade shows are


episodic events where activities which are performed in a moreor less fixed sequence are repeated over time in an emotionallycharged context. The ethnographic data support the view thattrade shows are contexts where ritualized behavior occurs,particularly in the cases of those habitués who are long-timevisitors.

Although variants are possible, a typical visitor's sequence ofactivities is as follows. Firstly, visitors dedicate a significantamount of time to the trend areas arranged by a few trade showorganizers to present the most significant innovations in a time-saving and visually compelling manner. Secondly, visitors visitmarket leaders' stands: as leaders are usually innovators, thesevisits give industrial buyers a sense of the new developments inthe industry and provide a benchmark to compare current sup-pliers. Thirdly, visitors pay courtesy visits to regular supplierswho, in their stands, stage micro-rituals of welcome and hos-pitality. Finally, but only if sufficient time remains, visitorsexamine other potential suppliers. However, on occasions, visi-tors may deviate from their intended path and visit exhibitors thatattract their attention when moving from one booth to the next.

The ritual dimension of visitor behavior is not limited torepeated sequences of activities. Trade shows may be cate-gorized – when adopting the taxonomy proposed by Cova andSalle (2000) based on anthropological scholarship (VanGennep, 1909; Goffman, 1959) – as rituals of integration thatmark membership of a given community. In other words, par-ticipating in trade shows reinforces the communitarian valuesthat hold people together and stimulates the spontaneous emer-gence of feelings of communitas among visitors and exhibitorsalike, a situation which contrasts with the individualism of theordinary, mundane professional life. A characteristic of ritualcontexts is liminality (Van Gennep, 1909; Turner, 1974). TheLatin term limen means threshold or transversal boundary.Liminality refers to states of passage from one condition toanother; in liminal states, individuals may question traditionalmanners of operating and recognize new opportunities, and endup seeing the world in a different manner. Interactions withexhibitors and other visitors in the context of “courtesy visits” tosuppliers and accidental meetings with other members of theindustry pave the way for collective sense-making activitiesfacilitated by the exchange of information – often in the form ofgossip – on what is going on in the market. While the eticconcepts of rituals and liminality do not recur in the conver-sations with the informants, many of them highlighted the factthat “we are not the same when we come back to our office”, asnew ideas, new inspiration, new ways of looking at the evo-lution of the market and the confirmation of decisions alreadytaken change worldviews.

Although for new trade shows – or new visitors – rationalreasons relating to information-search-only can motivate thedecision to attend, in most other cases, the ritual dimension ofvisitor behavior is a major contextual factor with significanttheoretical andmanagerial implications. From a theoretical pointof view, a ritual perspective can act as a corrective to the under-socialized view of trade show visitor behavior inherent in the“received view". From a managerial point of view, representingindustrial buyers as utility-maximizing information-processing

agents may lead to poor marketing communications strategies:for example, deciding to stop exhibiting at a trade show because,as often heard, “we know all customers here”.

5. Emerging theoretical framework and managerialimplications

This section proposes a theoretical framework based on theresearch findings (Fig. 1). The model represents ongoing searchprocesses at trade shows as activities whose outcomes areinfluenced by the quality and quantity of the experienceproviders proposed by both exhibitors and trade show orga-nizers. Moreover, the model suggests that broader outcomesbeyond those actively sought by visitors render trade showsimportant events in the lives of markets and industries.

Ongoing search processes are not just cognitive activities:they are embodied experiences. As a consequence, variousexperience providers may foster – or hinder – the outcomes ofongoing search processes. A trade show may be conceived as atemporary network of companies that stages micro-experiencesfor their target customers thanks to the presence of their pro-ducts and human resources and through a booth design thatfacilitates the interaction of visitors among themselves. Theoverall experience lived by industrial buyers in the context oftrade shows is, however, greater than the sum of theseindividual experiences. Trade show organizers, or at least themore competent ones, actively design visitor experiences at themacro level by creating the right atmosphere, in some cases byarranging visually compelling trend areas, and by selectingexhibitors based on appropriate criteria. In this sense, eachexhibitor may be considered an input for visitors' ongoingsearch processes, and the finding that market leaders are moreinformative than other exhibitors has important implications forthe design of visitor-centered trade shows.

Moreover, the ongoing search processes of regular trade showvisitors displays a ritual dimension, characterized by repetitivesequences of behaviors and by conditions of liminality that helpvisitors to distance themselves from ordinary ways of looking atthe business world. Under these circumstances, ongoing searchprocesses produce outcomes which industrial buyers activelyseek (i.e., new knowledge, inspiration, reassurance, the re-actualization of relationships) together with broader, macro-leveleffects such as collective sense-making and the fostering of asense of communitas. In the lives of markets and industries, tradeshows thus have a significance which goes beyond exhibitors'individual marketing practices.

The managerial implications of the model are clear. All theactors that take part to the event itself co-create good tradeshows: trade show organizers, exhibitors and visitors. So far,trade show literature has neglected the macro-level role oforganizers in creating the context enabling individual exhibitorsand visitors to make the most of their participation (for anexception, see Rinallo and Golfetto, 2006). The results show, forexample, that the presence of market leaders is of paramountimportance if the trade show has to fulfill its role in providinginspiration to visitors; that trends areas are of similar relevance inobtaining the most from the visit; that “socialization” areas that

Fig. 1. An interpretive model of ongoing search among trade show visitors.


enable visitors to interact and share knowledge among them-selves are also an important ingredient for a successful tradeshow. From a different perspective, organizers are alsoresponsible to some extent for the “casting” of the participantsto the event. If communitas is a desirable outcome, selectingparticipants that “fit well together” is of paramount importance.For example, the presence of consumers at the Milan Furnituretrade show (Salone del Mobile) annoys professional visitors(architects, interior designers, retailers) because of the morecrowded environment and heightened competition to attractexhibitors' attention. In other European trade shows, organizersare now accepting Asian exhibitors. Domestic exhibitors hinderthe presence of these foreign rivals as theymanifest “in their ownplace” the forces of globalization in such a way as to disturb theproper establishment of communitas.

The research findings also contradict some of the manage-rial implications of extant trade show literature. Dedicating timeto listen to and provide information to “curious” visitors notengaged in an immediate purchase decision is not a waste ofeffort as suggested by some authors (e.g., Bello, 1992; Belloand Lohtia, 1993), but rather an investment to strengthenreputation and brand image – an investment whose returnscannot and should not be evaluated in the short term. In anongoing search perspective, a visitor who is neglected todaymay become an important purchase influencer in a more or lessdistant future.

The model here provides guidance regarding the selection oftrade shows and the measurement of returns on trade showinvestments. The results show the difficulties in establishing acausal relationship between trade show investments and measur-able returns. Unlike trade shows held in emerging markets, thosetaking place in penetrated markets do not generate significantleads, to the extent that some companies question their effecti-veness based on the models prevailing in the academic literature.Yet, these trade shows fulfill the role of maintaining relationships,rather than creating new ones, by re-actualizing social ties and byreducing customers' cognitive dissonance. Moreover, whenconsidering that visitors engage in an ongoing search, the tem-

poral horizon of the return on trade show investments willinexorably be longer, and short-sighted exhibitors could loosesome opportunities.

6. Conclusions

This article provides evidence about the nature of ongoingsearch processes in industrial markets, which are a path ofcontinual learning often not linked to specific purchase objectives.The study contributes to literature on information search amongindustrial buyers by highlighting its bias in favor of search pro-cesses that lead to short-term purchases. While indirect proofs ofongoing search processes are present in trade show literature, thisarticle explicitly addresses this phenomenon and thus fills a gap inthe scholarship about organizational buying behavior.

While trade shows were the empirical context – rather thanthe object – of this study, the research also has strongimplications for trade show scholarship. The research findings,synthesized in the interpretive model shown in Fig. 1, offer amore complex and nuanced view of visitor behavior at tradeshows and introduce a broader perspective of the significanceof these events for their underlying markets which goes beyondthe marketing objectives of individual exhibitors. Currentresearch on the subject represents visitors in an undersocializedmanner and calls for additional research on the anthropologicalphenomena that take place in the context of trade shows. Similarto other events that bring together all relevant actors in anorganizational field (e.g., Anand andWatson, 2004), trade showsmay shape the evolution of markets (Rinallo and Golfetto,2006). The conceptual lenses of organization scholars couldthus complement marketing scholarship to offer a more balancedand in-depth comprehension of trade shows.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank SDA Bocconi, CERMESBocconi and Fondazione Fiera Milano for their financialsupport to the present study.


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