The structure of marketing channel relationships

Distribution channel research has been advanced in recent years by contributions based on the political economy paradigm, transaction cost analysis, and relationship marketing. Drawing on these bodies of thought, we propose a new conceptualization of the structure of marketing channel relationships. Relationship structure is defined in terms of decision-making structure and operational integration. The proposed model of channel structure antecedents and consequences is consistent with the major research paradigms but extends beyond simple categorical assemblages of constructs to provide an ordered set of relationships based on theory and empirical research. This conceptualization reconciles some apparent contradictions in the literature and provides a clear focus for structure, process, and performance research in channels. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Louisiana State University. He has published in the areas of marketing channels, retailing, and logistics. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Channels, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Materials Management, Journal of Marketing Education, and others. He served as the managing director of public relations with the Federal Express Corporation before entering the Ph.D. program at Alabama. He holds a B.B.A. in accountancy from the University of Mississippi and an M.A. in marketing from the University of Alabama.     

Managing trade promotions in the context of market power

The use of trade promotions as a channel-programming tool has increased substantially in the past decade. In focusing on the tactical implications of trade promotions, some firms appear to have underestimated the tendency of poorly planned trade promotions to interfere with the implementation of a marketing strategy. In this article, the authors examine the complex issue of trade promotion use from both long-term and short-term perspectives. Different trade promotions can produce dissimilar types of channel cooperation, consumer responses, and postpromotion channel member behavior, resulting in differences in distribution-programming preferences between suppliers and retailers. The authors argue that the adjudication of these different preference structures is addressed through the market power of the channel participants. Based on an assessment of these channel relationships, an approach for suggested courses of action is forwarded. Jack J. Kasulis is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Oklahoma. He obtained his Ph.D. in marketing from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and has research interests in marketing channels, retailing, and consumer behavior. His articles have appeared in such journals as theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, and various other journals and proceedings. Fred W. Morgan is the Ashland Professor of Marketing at the University of Kentucky. He obtained his Ph.D. in marketing from Michigan State University in East Lansing and has research interests in legal issues in marketing, sales management, and marketing channels. His articles have appeared in such journals as theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing and Public Policy, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Channels, and various other journals and proceedings. David E. Griffith is an associate professor and the Harvey Jones Chair of Marketing at Ouachita Baptist University. He obtained his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Texas in Austin and has research interests in marketing channels, marketing strategy, and ethics. His research has appeared inMarketing Letters, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Channels, and various other journals and proceedings. James M. Kenderdine is an associate professor and director of the Distribution Research Program at the University of Oklahoma. He obtained his D.B.A. from Indiana University in Bloomington. His research interests are in wholesaling, retailing, and marketing channels. His publications have includedThe Changing Economics of Wholesaling: A North American Chart Book, Wholesaling in Transition: An Executive Chart Book, and articles in various journals and proceedings.     

An exploratory study of exclusive dealing in channel relationships

The channel literature has paid little attention to issues related to exclusive dealing governance arrangements. Consequently, there is only limited knowledge about how exclusive dealing impacts various channel processes and outcomes. This gap is especially regrettable since exclusive dealing, in addition to being one of the most commonplace governance formats within the distribution channels, is also one of the best exemplars of viable unilateral governance formats. In this initial investigation, the authors explore the linkages among the constructs of exclusive dealing, relationalism, communication, and performance. Empirical data for the study were drawn from the photocopier industry. He obtained his M.B.A. and D.B.A. degrees from Boston University. His primary research interest includes channels of distribution, franchisor-franchisee relationships, and consumer purchase behavior in international contexts. He has published articles inJournal of Marketing Channels and the proceedings of several marketing conferences. This article was crafted when Rajiv Dant was at Boston University. He received his M.B.A. from Bombay University and his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His research focuses on channels of distribution, with primary emphasis on franchise structure, franchisee-franchisor relationships, and public policy aspects of franchising growth and ownership topics. His research has been published inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of the Operations Research Society, Marketing Letters, Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Economic Psychology, Southern Business & Economics Journal, Philosophical and Radical Thought in Marketing, Journal of Healthcare Marketing, Journal of Marketing Channels, andInternational Small Business Journal.     

Satisfaction with international marketing channels

This article examines factors leading to a firm’s satisfaction with its marketing channels. The authors build on existing studies of consumer satisfaction and the channels literature. They add a transaction cost factor and use the discrepancy model to examine the determinants of satisfaction. Findings from a survey of Canadian exporters show that a firm’s domestic performance, its previous experience, the uncertainty it faces, and its ability to change channels and monitor channel operations all provide significant explanations for management satisfaction. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Toronto. His research interests are in the areas of international marketing, channels of distribution, and marketing strategy. Professor Klein has published articles in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, andJournal of Marketing Research, andInternational Marketing Review. He received his Ph.d. degree from the University of Toronto. His research interests are in the areas of new product development, satisfaction research, and retailing. Professor Roth has published articles in theJournal of Marketing Research, theServices Industry Journal, andInternational Marketing Review.     

The consumer retail search process: A conceptual model and research agenda

Consumers are continually faced with the task of finding their way through a wide variety of retail environments. Surprisingly, very little research has addressed questions about how consumers physically search through retail settings. This article explores this important, yet little researched behavior. A conceptual model of the consumer’s retail search process (CRSP) and several research propositions are advanced. The CRSP model integrates research findings relevant to an understanding of consumer retail search behavior. Literature from such diverse fields of scientific inquiry as environmental psychology, human factors, architecture, and marketing are reviewed and serve as the theoretical basis of the CRSP model. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Pennsylvania State University in 1991. His current research interest concerns how consumers interact with the physical environment and how this interaction influences subsequent behavior. His research has been published in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing and theJournal of Marketing Education. His teaching and research interests focus on marketing and the environment and services marketing. He has carried out extensive research under sponsorship of federal, state, and local agencies on consumer behavior and urban travel and energy consumption. He received a B.S. degree in psychology from the University of Washington in 1966 and a Ph.D., also in psychology, from the University of North Carolina in 1972.     

An assessment of country of origin effects under alternative presentation formats

Empirical research concerning the effects of country of origin (COO) on consumers’ evaluative reactions to products has produced mixed and sometimes inconsistent results. Potential explanations for this situation include differences in the countries considered, populations sampled, products investigated, availability of product cues other than COO, the format in which the product cues were presented to the subjects, and the types of evaluative reactions considered. The authors present the results of three experiments designed to investigate the impact of three presentation formats (i.e., single cue, explicit multiple cues, and implicit multiple cues) on COO effects for four evaluative reactions (i.e., perceived quality, product evaluations other than quality, affect, and purchase intentions). COO effects were strongest for the single-cue format and weakest for the implicit multiple-cues condition. Perception of product quality was most strongly affected by COO, followed by product evaluations other than quality; COO had its smallest effect on purchase intention. Implications of these results and future research directions are discussed. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Indiana University. His work has appeared in many journals including theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, International Marketing Review, Management International Review, Psychology and Marketing, andJournal of Health Care Marketing, as well as conference proceedings. His research interests include consumer inference and decision-making processes, research methods, export marketing, and competitive strategy. He received his MBA from Notre Dame and his Ph.D. from Indiana University. His research interests include consumer choice processes, consumer response to advertising, and marketing communications. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Psychology and Marketing, and elsewhere. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Administration from Purdue University. His research interests include buyer-seller negotiations, channel relationships, and marketing strategy. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, andJournal of Consumer Research.     

Buyer-seller relationships in the procurement of logistical services

This study presents a two-phase model of interfirm exchange in the logistical supply industry. The first phase uses transaction cost analysis to identify conditions leading to market-based transactions, unilateral agreements, and bilateral alliances. The second phase illustrates how formal controls and relational norms yield performance in market, unilateral, and bilateral governance systems. A test of the model with data from 189 logistical supply relationships suggests that bilateral alliances emerge through the interaction of user investments in the logistics supplier, supplier logistical services, and marketplace uncertainty. Bilateral alliances attain desired outcomes through participative management and flexibility. By contrast, market-based transactions yield desired outcomes through formalization and solidarity. Unilateral agreements gain performance through formalization, participation, information sharing, and solidarity. Implications for logistics management and theory are discussed. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Cincinnati. His research interests include relationship marketing and marketing channels. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Retailing, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Marketing Letters, Omega: The International Journal of Management Science, and elsewhere. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her research has concentrated on business-to-business marketing relationships, with a focus on means to improve coordination, and on sales management, with an emphasis on ways to enhance diversity, improve performance, and reduce turnover. Her articles have appeared in theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Letters, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, and elsewhere. He is also the director of the Warehousing Research Center (WRC). He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Industrial marketing strategy, marketing and logistics interfaces, logistics and warehousing management are his primary areas of expertise and interest. He has published articles in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Logistics, Industrial Marketing Management, and elsewhere. He has also written a leading industrial marketing text and a variety of warehousing and logistics monographs.     

Spreading the word: Investigating antecedents of consumers’ positive word-of-mouth intentions and behaviors in a retailing context

Empirical studies investigating the antecedents of positive word of mouth (WOM) typically focus on the direct effects of consumers’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with previous purchasing experiences. The authors develop and test a more comprehensive model of the antecedents of positive. WOM (both intentions and behaviors), including consumer identification and commitment. Specifically, they hypothesize and test commitment as a mediator and moderator of satisfaction on positive WOM and commitment as a mediator of identification on WOM. Using data obtained from customers of a retailer offering both products and services, they find support for all hypothesized relationships with WOM intentions and/or WOM behaviors as the dependent variable. The authors conclude with a discussion of their findings and implications for both marketing theory and practice. Tom J. Brown (tomb@okstate.edu) is Ardmore Professor of Business Administration and an associate professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His articles have appeared in leading marketing journals including theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. His current research interests include causes and effects of corporate reputation and the customer orientation of service workers. He is cofounder of the Corporate Identity/Associations Research Group. Teaching interests include marketing research, services marketing, and corporate communications. He is coauthor (with Gilbert A. Churchill Jr.) ofBasic Marketing Research (5th ed.). Thomas E. Barry (tbarry@mail.smu.edu) is a professor of marketing and vice president for executive affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. His primary teaching and research interests are in the areas of integrated marketing communications, marketing management, brand equity, loyalty, and advertising effectiveness. His research has appeared in numerous journals including theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Consumer Psychology, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He is the author or coauthor of two books in marketing and advertising management. He has consulted for a variety of firms and is a director on four boards. In 1995, he received the Outstanding Contributions in Advertising Research Award from the American Academy of Advertising. Peter A. Dacin (pdacin@business.queens.ca) is a professor of marketing at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. His primary teaching and research interests lie in consumer/managerial judgment formation, brand equity/dilution, corporate reputation, and research methods and design. He has also published in the area of sales force management. His research has appeared in several leading journals including theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, and theJournal of Consumer Research. In addition, he has published in numerous conference proceedings. He is currently the chair of the American Marketing Association’s ConsumerBehavior Special Interest Group, serves on the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association, and is cofounder of the Corporate Identity/Associations Research Group. Richard F. Gunst (rgunst@mail.smu.edu) is a professor and chair of the Department of Statistical Science at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. He received his Ph.D. from SMU. His primary teaching and research interests are in the areas of linear and nonlinear modeling and regression analysis, with an emphasis on spatial statistical modeling. He has co-authored three books on regression analysis and the statistical design and analysis of experiments, in addition to publishing scholarly articles in theJournal of the American Statistical Association, Biometrika, Biometrics, andTechnometrics. He has received the W. J. Youden (1974, 1985) and Frank Wilcoxon (1994) Publication Awards fromTechnometrics, and the American Statistical Association’s Award for Outstanding Statistical Application Award (1994). He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and received its Founders Award in 1999.     

The e-marketing mix: A contribution of the e-tailing wars

In the context of the wars between the upstart Internet retailers and the existing bricks-and-mortar retailers, many e-marketing techniques were invented. This article develops a single unifying and theoretically based taxonomy for e-marketing techniques: the e-marketing mix. Drawing on the paradigms of exchange, relationships, and digital interactions in networks, 11 e-marketing functions are identified that form the elements of the e-marketing mix. Nine of the 11 e-marketing functions are considered basic, while 7 functions moderate the effects of others and are termedoverlapping. The 11 e-marketing functions provide a categorization of the e-marketing techniques. Compared to the conventional marketing mix, the e-marketing mix has more overlapping elements and directly represents personalization, an aspect of segmentation, as a basic function. The existence of multiple elements that are basic and overlapping in the e-marketing mix indicates that integration across elements should be more commonplace compared to the traditional marketing mix. Kirthi Kalyanam is the J. C. Penney Research Professor in the Department of Marketing and the director of E^*Business Initiatives at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. The Leavey School offers the premier M.B.A. program for working professionals in Silicon Valley. He teaches e-business, channel marketing, and retailing in the EMBA, M.B.A., and undergraduate programs. His research interests are in e-business, retailing, and pricing. His publications have appeared as lead articles inMarketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Letters, Journal of Retailing, andJournal of Interactive Marketing. His research paper, published in theJournal of Marketing Research on GeoDemographic Marketing, was selected as a finalist for the American Marketing Association’s Paul E. Green Award for impact on the practice of marketing. Professor Kalyanam has received the dean’s award for outstanding teaching and/or research contributions. He has also taught at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, the Krannert School of Management, and the Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing at Purdue University and at DePaul University in Chicago. He received his Ph.D. in business administration from the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University. Shelby McIntyre is a professor of marketing at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. He is also a research associate at the Retail Workbench, a research and education center dedicated to applying advanced information technology to the problems of retailing. He earned a B.S. in engineering (1965), an M.B.A. (1973), and a Ph.D. (1979), all from Stanford University. He has subsequently published more than 50 articles in leading marketing journals, including 5 in theJournal of Marketing Research, 2 inManagement Science, and 11 in theJournal of Retailing. He is on the editorial board of theJournal of Marketing. He has twice received the annual award from theJournal of Retailing for the article “Best Contributing to Theory and Practice in Retail Marketing.” He teaches marketing information systems, marketing research, brand management, and marketing management and was the chair of the Marketing Department at Santa Clara University from 1983 to 1991. His research interests currently focus on decision support systems, retail-related decision models, and e-commerce.     

U-commerce: Expanding the universe of marketing

This article introduces several new concepts that lay the conceptual foundation for thinking about next-generation marketing based on ubiquitous networks. U-commerce, orüber-commerce, is predicated on the characteristics of network ubiquity, universality, uniqueness, and unison. It is proposed that the keys to managing network-driven firms are the concepts of u-space and attention analysis. The implications for next-generation marketing in the u-space are explored, with a research agenda identified for scholars and managerial implications recognized for practitioners. Richard T. Watson is the J. Rex Distinguished Chair for Internet Strategy and the director of the Center for Information Systems Leadership in the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia. He has published in leading journals in several fields as well as authored books on data management and electronic commerce and given invited seminars in nearly 20 countries. He is vice president of communications of AIS and recently finished a term as a senior editor ofMIS Quarterly. He is a visiting professor at Agder University College, Norway, and a consulting editor to John Wiley & Sons. Leyland F. Pitt is a professor of marketing in the School of Marketing, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. He is also adjunct professor of marketing at Kingston Business School, United Kingdom; the University of Lulea, Sweden; and the Ecole Nationale Ponts et Chaussees in Paris. He has also taught marketing and electronic commerce on M. B. A. and executive programs at schools such as Warwick Business School, London Business School, the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University, and the Graham School of Continuing Studies at the University of Chicago. Dr. Pitt is the author of more than 100 papers in scholarly journals, and his work has appeared in publications such asCalifornia Management Review, Sloan Management Review, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Information Systems Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Communications of the ACM, andMIS Quarterly (for which he also served as associate editor). Pierre Berthon is an associate professor of marketing at Bentley College. He has held academic positions at Columbia University, Henley Management College, Cardiff University, and University of Bath. His teaching and research focus on electronic commerce, market information processing, organization and strategy, and management decision making. George M. Zinkhan is the Coca-Cola Company Chair of Marketing at the University of Georgia. After receiving his doctorate at the University of Michigan, he served on the faculty at both the University of Houston and the University of Pittsburgh. His main research focus is on the areas of communication, advertising, and electronic commerce. His recent coauthored books includeElectronic Commerce: A Strategic Perspective (2000) andConsumers (2002).     

Interimistic relational exchange: Conceptualization and propositional development

Research on relational exchange has focused primarily on long-term, or “enduring,” relational exchange. The evolutionary model of relationship development that is the foundation for much of the research on enduring relational exchange lacks applicability for short-term, or “interimitic,” relational exchange. Interimistic relational exchange is defined as a close, collaborative, fast-developing, short-lived exchange relationship in which companies pool their skills and/or resources to address a transient, albeit important, business opportunity and/or threat. Because interimistic exchange relationships must quickly become functional and have a short life, these relationships have less time to fully develop the relational governance mechanisms assumed in the evolutionary model. There-fore, interimistic relational exchange appears to relymore on nonrelational mechanisms than does enduring relational exchange. This article (1) examines how interimistic relational exchange governance differs from that of enduring relational exchange and (2) develops propositions for further research on interimistic relational exchange. C. Jay Lambe received his doctorate from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. He is an assistant professor of marketing at Texas Tech University. Prior to entering academe, he was engaged in business-to-business marketing for both Xerox and AT&T. His research interests include business-to-business marketing, relationship marketing, marketing strategy, and sales management. He has publications in theJournal of Product Innovation Management, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and theInternational Journal of Management Reviews. In 1999, he was one of five Texas Tech University faculty members chosen by the students for the annual Outstanding Faculty Member Award. Robert E. Spekman is the Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School. He was formerly a professor of marketing and associate director of the Center for Telecommunications at the University of Southern California (USC). He is a recognized authority on business-to-business marketing and strategic alliances. His consulting experiences range from marketing research and competitive analysis to strategic market planning, supply chain management, channels of distribution design and implementation, and strategic partnering. He has taught in a number of executive programs in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. He has edited/written seven books and has authored (coauthored) more than 80 articles and papers. He also serves as a reviewer for a number of marketing and management journals as well as for the National Science Foundation. Prior to joining the faculty at USC, he taught in the College of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. During his tenure at Maryland, he was granted the Most Distinguished Faculty Award by the MBA students on three separate occasions. Shelby D. Hunt is the J. B. Hoskins and P. W. Horn Professor of Marketing at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. A past editor of theJournal of Marketing (1985–1987) and author ofModern Marketing Theory: Critical Issues in the Philosophy of Marketing Science (South-Western, 1991), he has written numerous articles on competitive theory, macro marketing, ethics, channels of distribution, and marketing theory. Three of hisJournal of Marketing articles, “The Nature and Scope of Marketing” (1976), “General Theories and the Fundamental Explananda of Marketing” (1983), and “The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition” (1995) won the Harold H. Maynard Award for the “best article on marketing theory”. He received the 1986 Paul D. Converse Award from the American Marketing Association for his “outstanding contributions to theory and science in marketing”. He received the 1987 Outstanding Marketing Educator Award from the Academy of Marketing Science and the 1992 American Marketing Association/Richard D. Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator Award. His new and provocative book is titledA General Theory of Competition: Resources, Competences, Productivity, Economic Growth (Sage, 2000).     

Firm-level export performance assessment: Review, evaluation, and development

Export performance is one of the most widely researched but least understood and most contentious areas of international marketing. To some extent, this problem can be ascribed to difficulties in conceptualizing, operationalizing, and measuring the export performance construct, often leading to inconsistent and conflicting results. This study reviews and evaluates more than 100 articles of pertinent empirical studies to assess and critique export performance measurements. Based on gaps identified in this evluation, guidelines for export performance measure development are advanced, suggesting, however, a contingency approach in their application. Several conclusions and implications for export strategy and future research are derived from this analysis. Constantine S. Katsikeas holds the Sir Julian Hodge Chair in Marketing and International Business at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. His main research interests lie in the areas of international marketing and purchasing, global strategic alliances, and competitive strategy. He has published widely in these fields and his articles have appeared inJournal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Marketing, (formerly Columbia)Journal of World Business, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, andManagement International Review, among others. Leonidas C. Leonidou is associate professor of marketing at the University of Cyprus. He obtained his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Bath, and has research interests in international marketing, relationship marketing, strategic marketing, and marketing in emerging economies. He has published extensively in these fields and his articles have appeared in various journals includingJournal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Marketing, andManagement International Review. Neil A. Morgan is assistant professor of marketing in the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His research interests focus on strategic issues concerning marketing resources and capabilities, and marketing planning and implementation processes and their links with business performance. His work has appeared inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, British Journal of Management, European Journal of Marketing, and other journals.     

Marketing,market growth,and endogenous growth theory: An inquiry into the causes of market growth

Market growth plays a central role in virtually all strategic marketing models developed in the past 30 years. Although marketing scholars seem implicitly to assume that marketing efforts contribute in some way to market growth, market growth per se remains a conceptual black box in marketing. Using new developments in endogenous growth theory, this article explores the link between marketing actions and market growth. In particular, the authors develop a conceptual model arguing that the effect of endogenous actions on market growth is mediated by knowledge creation, matching, and diffusion. Propositions are proposed to guide future research. The authors discuss the implications for marketing strategy at both business discipline and public policy levels. Sundar Bharadwaj (Sundar_Bharadwaj@bus.Emory.edu) is an associate professor of marketing in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. His research interests focus on marketing strategy, performance, and risk. His research has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Management Science, and theitJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. Terry Clark (tclark@cba.siu.edu) is a professor and chair in the marketing department at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. His research interests include the intersection of international marketing and marketing strategy. His research has appeared in theJournal of Marketing and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. Songpol Kulviwat (mktszk@hofstra.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing and international business at Hofstra University. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Southern Illinois University. His research interests include Internet marketing, hightech marketing, international business (sncross-cultural research), and information technology. Prior to his academic career, he worked in the area of international sales management in Thailand.     

Organizing and managing channels of distribution

During the past three decades, tremendous strides have been made in our understanding of how firms should organize and manage their channels of distribution. Still, we have barely touched the surface of all the managerial issues that need to be addressed. A variety of research needs still exist regarding constructs and issues examined in prior channels research. Furthermore, many issues of managerial importance relating to the organization and management of channels of distribution have received no attention in empirical research. The purpose of this article is to provide a perspective on how channels research should proceed in the future to promote the most progress. It is hoped that the article will help to shape the future direction of marketing thought with regard to channels of distribution and its fundamental domain. Gary L. Frazier, Ph.D., holds an endowed chair appointment as the Richard and Jarda Hurd Professor of Distribution Management in the Marshall School of Business Administration at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles. His research interests have focused on the structuring and management of channels of distribution around the world. He is especially interested in how channel relationships can be efficiently and effectively coordinated to create value for the channel’s customers. He has conducted research studies on channels of distribution in Europe and India, as well as in the United States. He has edited 10 books and proceedings, and has published more than 40 research article, including 15 in theJournal of Marketing and theJournal of Marketing Research. He heads the Program in Distribution Management at USC, supported by distributors with more than $10 billion in annual sales. He has won several awards for his teaching. He also has had the opportunity to consult and teach for a number of major corporations.     

Personality characteristics and salespeople’s choice of coping strategies

The issue of whether salespeople cope with sales stressors in ways consistent with their personality characteristics remains largely unaddressed in the empirical literature. Should certain personality characteristics make salespeople more stress resistant, implications for the selection of sales candidates already possessing such characteristics or for the cultivation of such characteristics within existing salespeople could be developed. A framework is developed suggesting why salespeople with certain personality characteristics—those high on challenge, self-determination, and involvement in self and surroundings—may employ different coping strategies. Support for hypotheses was developed in a study that used a stratified random sample of 322 sales organizations. Salespeople high on challenge, self-determination, and involvement were found to use more problem-focused coping strategies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. Before entering academe, he was in sales with the Tenneco Corporation and was president of a retailing firm in North Carolina. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, andJournal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, among other scholarly journals. His current research interests include issues relating to sales and channels management. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi in 1992. His research has appeared in theJournal of International Consumer Marketing, Developments in Marketing Science, Advances in Marketing, andHealth Marketing Quarterly, among others. His current research interests include business ethics and channels management. Prior to entering academe, he was vice president of a marketing consulting firm in Lubbock, Texas. He has a B.S. in chemistry, an M.B.A. in management, and received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Arkansas. Before entering academe, he worked in marketing research for Phillips Petroleum Company. His primary research interests include retail patronage theory, market segmentation, and research methodology, with recent research focused on the elderly consumer. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, The Gerontologist, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and other scholarly journals.     

The role of corporate social responsibility in strengthening multiple stakeholder relationships: A field experiment

This research relied on a field experiment involving a real-world instance of corporate philanthropy to shed light on both the scope and limitations of the strategic returns to corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, the authors demonstrate that the impact of CSR in the real world is not only less pervasive than has been previously acknowledged but also more multifaceted than has been previously conceptualized. The findings indicated that contingent on CSR awareness, which was rather low, stakeholders did react positively to the focal company not only in the consumption domain but in the employment and investment domains as well. Stakeholder attributions regarding the genuineness of the company’s motives moderated these effects. Sankar Sen (sankar_sen@baruch.cuny.edu) is a professor of marketing at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York. He received his Ph.D. in marketing in 1993 from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on consumer decision making. He is interested, more specifically, in consumer reactions to company actions, particularly in the domain of CSR. His research has appeared inCalifornia Management Review, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Economic Theory, and others. C. B. Bhattacharya (cb@bu.edu) received his Ph.D. in marketing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 and his M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management in 1984. Prior to joining Boston University, he was on the faculty at the Goizueta Business School, Emory University. His specific expertise is in the areas of customer retention and the roles of CSR and organizational identification in designing marketing strategy. He served on the editorial review board of theJournal of Marketing from 2002 to 2005 and has published in journals such as theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Applied Psychology, andOrganization Science. He speaks frequently at many academic and business forums and won the William Novelli Best Paper Award at the Social Marketing Conference in 1997. Dr. Bhattacharya received the 2001 Broderick Prize for Research Excellence at Boston University and the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award in 1995, the highest teaching award at Emory University. He is also part of the select group of faculty members onBusiness Week’s Outstanding Faculty list. Prior to his Ph.D., he worked for 3 years as a product manager for Reckitt Benkiser PLC. He has consulted for organizations such as the Hitachi Corporation, Procter & Gamble Company, Bell South, The Prudential Bank, Information Resources Inc., Airwick Industries, Silo Inc., and the High Museum of Art. Daniel Korschun (danielk@bu.edu) is a doctoral candidate in marketing at Boston University. His current research interests include brand management, CSR, and interorganizational relationships.     

Influencing consumers’ selection of domestic versus imported products: Implications for marketing based on a model of helping behavior

Recent marketing campaigns have urged American consumers to “Buy American.” Marketers can improve the success of their campaigns if they understand the network of influences that lead American consumers to help threatened domestic workers. Consumers’ cooperation in purchasing domestic products may be viewed as a form of help for American workers whose jobs are threatened by the success of imported products. This study presents a model designed to explain consumers’ willingness to help these workers. Survey data were subjected to structural equation analysis to test the model. Results confirmed willingness to help is influenced by the salience of the problem, identification with the workers, inequity of the situation, felt similarity with the workers, empathy with the workers, and the costs of helping. These findings suggest ways to market the Buy American theme. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Her research interests include international marketing and channels of distribution. Her work has appeared in theJournal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Retailing, and other marketing journals. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. His research interests include the fitness market, consumer logistics, helping behavior, and marketing channels. His research findings have been reported in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science and in various other business and social science journals and proceedings. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Houston. Dr. Biswas’s work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Psychology and Marketing, andJournalism Quarterly, as well as other refereed journals.     

The perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility on organizational effectiveness: A survey of marketers

A necessary but insufficient condition for marketers to act ethically and be socially responsible is that they must perceive ethics and social responsibility to be important. However, little is known about marketers’ perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility components of business decisions. The objectives of this study are (1)to assess the marketing practitioners’ perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness, and (2) to analyze the relative influences of selected personal characteristics and organizational factors underlying a marketer’s perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. The results from a mail survey of American Marketing Association members indicate that the marketers generally believe that ethics and social responsibility are important components of organizational effectiveness. The results partly indicate that there is a positive relationship between a marketer’s corporate ethical values and his or her perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility. The results also indicate that the marketers’ perceptions regarding ethics and social responsibility can be explained by idealism and relativism. He has also served on the marketing faculty at Thammasat University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. His research focusing on marketing ethics and social responsibility has been published inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and elsewhere. He received his D.B.A. in management from the University of Maryland. His work on business ethics, organizational design, and strategic planning has been published inAcademy of Management Review, American Business Review, andJournal of Business Ethics. His current research interest centers on the measurement of moral intensity. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. His work has appeared inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Research in Marketing, and elsewhere. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Mississippi. His research has been published inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management, Journal of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, and elsewhere. His research interests include marketing ethics, health care marketing, international marketing, and direct marketing.     

Alliance competence, resources, and alliance success: Conceptualization, measurement, and initial test

This research examines the effect of an alliance competence on resource-based alliance success. The fundamental thesis guiding this research is that an alliance competence contributes to alliance success, both directly and through the acquisition and creation of resources. Using survey data gathered from 145 alliances, empirical tests of the hypotheses provide support for the posited explanation of alliance success. The findings indicate that an alliance competence is not only antecedent to the resources that are necessary for alliance success but also to alliance success itself. C. Jay Lambe (Ph.D., The Darden School at University of Virginia) is an assistant professor of marketing in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. For 10 years prior to entering academe, he was engaged in business-to-business marketing for both Xerox and AT&T. His research interests include business-to-business marketing, relationship marketing, marketing strategy, and sales management. He has publications in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Product Innovation Management, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, theInternational Journal of Management Reviews, theJournal of Business-to-Business Marketing, and theJournal of Relationship Marketing. He also serves as a reviewer for theJournal of Business-to-Business Marketing. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, he was one of five Texas Tech University faculty members chosen in 1999 from the entire university for the annual Outstanding Faculty Member Award by the Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa (Texas Tech University student organizations that recognize excellence in teaching). Robert E. Spekman is the Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School at the University of Virginia. He was formerly a professor of marketing and associate director of the Center for Telecommunications at the University of Southern California. He is an internationally recognized authority on business-to-business marketing and strategic alliances. His consulting experiences range from marketing research and competitive analysis, to strategic market planning, supply chain management, channels of distribution design and implementation, and strategic partnering. He has taught in a number of executive programs in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. His executive program experience ranges from general marketing strategy, to sales force management, to channels strategy, to creating strategic alliances, to business-to-business marketing strategy, to a number of single-company and senior executive management programs. He has edited and/or written seven books and has authored (coauthored) more than 80 articles and papers. He also serves as a reviewer for a number of marketing and management journals, as well as for the National Science Foundation. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Southern California, he taught in the College of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. During his tenure at Maryland, he was granted the Most Distinguished Faculty Award by the MBA students on three separate occasions. Shelby D. Hunt is the J. B. Hoskins and P. W. Horn Professor of Marketing at Texas Tech University, Lubbock. A past editor of theJournal of Marketing (1985–87), he is the author ofModern Marketing Theory: Critical Issues in the Philosophy of Marketing Science (South-Western, 1991) andA General Theory of Competition: Resources, Competences, Productivity, Economic Growth (Sage, 2000). He has written numerous articles on competitive theory, macromarketing, ethics, channels of distribution, philosophy of science, and marketing theory. Three of hisJournal of Marketing articles—“The Nature and Scope of Marketing” (1976), “General Theories and Fundamental Explananda of Marketing” (1983), and “The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition” (1995) (with Robert M. Morgan)—won the Harold H. Maynard Award for the best article on marketing theory. His 1985Journal of Business Research article with Lawrence B. Chonko, “Ethics and Marketing Management,” received the 2000 Elsevier Science Exceptional Quality and High Scholarly Impact award. His 1989 article, ”Reification and Realism in Marketing: in Defense of Reason,” won theJournal of Macromarketing Charles C. Slater Award. For his contributions to theory and science in marketing, he received the 1986 Paul D. Converse Award from the American Marketing Association, the 1987 Outstanding Marketing Educator Award from the Academy of Marketing Science, and the 1992 American Marketing Association/Richard D. Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator Award.     

Export channel design: The use of foreign distributors and agents

Because many manufacturers are unable to integrate vertically into global distribution, the nonintegrated market entry modes of foreign distributor and agent are frequently used. Unfortunately, little is known about choosing efficiently between distributor and agent because research has only partially examined the importance of transaction and production costs in determining institutional arrangements. To specify efficient channel design, this article develops and tests hypotheses linking the characteristics of export exchange to the cost-minimizing mode of export channel governance. Based on a sample of 269 manufacturers, results suggest that market diversity, type of transaction-specific asset, and production cost economies all affect the choice between foreign-based agents and distributors. The article concludes with the implications of these results for export management and future export research. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His research interests include distribution strategy and international marketing. He has published in theJournal of Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, andJournal of Advertising. He serves on the editorial review boards of various professional journals including theJournal of Marketing and theJournal of Business Research. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. Her research interests include buyer-seller relationships and business-to-business marketing. She has published in theJournal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Global Marketing, and in the proceedings of various professional conferences.