Extensiveness of farmers' buying processes

In this article we study farmers' buying processes, in particular the selection of a supplier for a given farm input. Extensiveness of farmers' buying processes is defined as the degree information acquisition and alternative evaluation effort carried out to prepare that selection. Hypotheses, generated by using a general model of farmers' buying behavior, are tested by means of a large survey of Dutch farmers. The relationship with vendors and the type of farming are important explanatory variables for the extensiveness of the buying process. Our findings support the psychology of simplification theorem as regards farmers' buying behavior, and the enrichments hypothesis as to product information. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.