The purpose of this study is to examine empirically the relationship between various styles of leadership with the degree of co-operation in marketing channels and to assess the impact of increased co-operation on channel member performance.
Co-operation in marketing channelsBecause the management of marketing channels requires an interorganizational focus, many channels researchers have attempted to expand our understanding of channel related behaviors by applying and extending theories developed in the organizational sciences. For example, Reve and Stern [17] and Stern and El-Ansary [18] posit that marketing channels can be viewed as superorganizations because they contain all the characteristics of complex organizations. According to organization theory, any complex organization can be characterized by collective goals, hierarchical structures, integration through subordination, formalization of rules and policies, co-operative relationships among its members, and collective interdependencies among its members relative to task performance [19,20].From a managerial perspective, it is useful to view marketing channels as superorganizations composed of interdependent institutions because they must co-operate to perform distribution tasks in the course of simultaneously pursuing independent and collective goals. Further, a manufacturer (or some other channel member) needs to administer the channel to foster channel member co-operation in achieving the firm's distribution objectives [21]. Thus, co-operation is a central construct in marketing channels because, as Alderson points out[22]:Co-operation is required if a behavior system is to act as a unit. Marketing channels cannot function without sustained co-operation in which each party knows what to expect from his opposite number [22, p. 239].Similar sentiments are echoed by and . In short, functional interdependence requires a substantial level of co-operation to perform the specific tasks necessary to make products and services available to final customers. Moreover, co-operation among channel members is necessary for organizations in the channel to maintain working relationships over time.In a similar vein, Stern and Reve [15] explain that co-operation can be characterized as a combination of object-centered, personal, and collaboratorcentered activity, which is based on compatibility of goals, aims, or values, while Sibley and Michie [24], building on the work of Young and Mack[25], state: Descriptions of co-operation in the channel management literature share three commonalties:(1) the necessity for two or more participating firms in the channel; (2) the notion of a collaborative process, strategy, relations, policies, or state to refer to co-operative activity among the participants; and (3) the potential attainment of one or more mutually desirable goals by the participants [24, p. 25].