Stakeholders in a hybrid market: the example of air business passenger travel Available to Purchase

Selects European business air travel as an example of a market that displays both industrial and consumer characteristics, and subsequently defines it as having a hybrid nature. Adopts a stakeholder approach to overcome the problems of the identification and analytical complexity associated with the decision‐making unit in this hybrid market. Collects data on three stakeholder groupings in a survey of 827 business travellers. Identifies the nature of the decision‐making process and the influence that each of the stakeholder groupings has in the purchase decision. Indicates that marketing strategies in the business air travel market could prove more successful through addressing multiple stakeholder groups involved in the purchase decision process. Suggests that the stakeholder model may provide a practical research approach to other hybrid markets where the DMU approach is difficult, particularly where there are many purchasing units.