A structural guide to in‐depth interviewing in business and industrial marketing research

Purpose – The authors aim to present a structural guide for data collection in a participant‐oriented, B2B context. Design/methodology/approach – A three‐stage interview process following the work of Seidman is presented, along with key issues on how to plan, structure, and execute a B2B interview‐based hermenuetic ethnographic study. Research limitations/implications – The framework presented in this paper provides strong theoretical foundation for further theory development in global industrial marketing research and managerial cognition research. However, given the conceptual nature of the research, empirical scrutiny and further conceptual and empirical research are required. Originality/value – There is a serious gap in the literature when addressing the issue of B2B contextual studies, focusing on managers, manufacturers, and various other professional personnel.