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It is a well-established fact that creating value for customers is a very important source of competitive advantage. However, no researchers have yet analyzed or defined what is meant by retailer value. In this study, building on a solid theoretical background, we propose a definition of “retailer value.” Subsequently, this concept has been used in an empirical study of retail chains in Denmark and Germany. The study was designed as a means-end chain approach to the buying of pork and fish products by retail buyers. The results revealed that it is possible to analyze the hierarchy between attributes, consequences, and values sought by retail buyers when buying for their companies, and to identify relevant differences across countries and products. These differences across the value maps are used to propose ideas for how manufacturers of pork and fish products can improve their marketing activities and thereby obtain competitive advantage. [EconLit citations: L660, L810.] © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 20: 323-345, 2004.

This paper presents results from a study on food retailer buying behaviour, i.e., how the retailers judge product and vendor attributes when choosing a new supplier of a product category that is already well known to them. A conjoint analysis was conducted in 16 Western European countries. The study encompassed the retailers' buying behaviour for fish and cheese products. The results demonstrate that the traditional four P's are losing ground to some previously neglected attributes, which now demand consideration by retail suppliers of products and services and by researchers.

The aim of this study has been to analyze important aspects of buying behavior of food retailers, i.e., trade buyers' evaluation of product and vendor attributes, based on a number of background variables, when choosing a new supplier of an already well-known product category. The study encompassed the retailers' buying behavior for pork, fish and cheese products. By conducting a conjoint analysis in sixteen Western European countries (15 'old' EU Countries (except Luxemburg), plus Norway and Austria), it is demonstrated that the traditional four Ps are losing ground to some previously neglected attributes, and that it is possible to generalise retailers' buying behavior for different food products across countries, retail organizations, and buyers.

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