This thesis presents an exploratory research on shipbuilding industrial marketing through analyzing ship purchase decision-making processes. The research is based on "the structure of unstructured decision processes" researched by Mintzberg (1967), and survey questionnaires which were mailed to sales and technical-sales personnel in five major shipbuilding companies in Korea and field representatives of ship-owners staying at Hyundai, Daewoo, and Samsung shipyards. Total 92 questionnaires were returned. However, 48 shipyard respondents, 40 ship-owner respondents, and 79 ship purchase projects have been analyzed in the research since the rest 4 respondents and 13 projects are determined not reliable.
The decision process in ordering a new ship is very complicated and depends upon many interrelated factors. It starts with identification of the transport opportunity and requirement, and eventually makes a decision to select a shipyard among many competitors as a supplier. Furthermore the marketing of the shipbuilding industry has traditionally been conservative. The interests of ship-owners and shipbuilders do not by any means always coincide with each other and several standard outline forms have been developed.
Accordingly the research objectives are as follows.
1). Modeling of ship purchase decision making processes according to business buyer behavior, i.e., major types of buying situations such as a straight repurchase, a modified repurchase, and a new task.
2). Identifying customer's perceived values so that marketing elements to satisfy the customer values can be illustrated in order to develop an effective marketing in the shipbuilding industry.
3). Developing a dynamic marketing in the ship purchasing decision process.
The survey results consist of four major parts as follows.
1). Ship purchase decision making processes indicate significant factors to interrupt the decision making processes, effectiveness of a technician in the decision making processes, and purchase criteria in each ship type.
2). Marketing of shipbuilding industry illustrates effective marketing activities to get an order of new ship, customers' perception as to customer values, product attributions, pricing, and communication methods between customer and supplier.
3). A dynamic marketing describes marketing differentiation in the ship purchase decision processes.
4). Some suggestions to develop Korean shipbuilding industry.
From the research, we can infer the following managerial implications.
First, a principle of marketing in a shipbuilding industry is illustrated in terms of customer values.
Second, from a shipbuilder's point of view, a success or failure to get an order of a new ship construction can be analyzed so that a shipbuilder can have a better marketing strategy in getting a new order next time.
In order to complement the shipbuilding marketing, the thesis suggests further research on price strategies in greater detail and application of information technology between customer and shipbuilder.
