Co‐ordination of international channel relationships: four case studies in the food industry in China

Abstract

Examines the pattern of relationships between foreign manufacturing firms and local third-party distributors and the effective management and co-ordination of supplierdistributor relationships in China. Case studies of four foreign-funded food manufacturers in China have been conducted. Different distributorship and styles of relationship management have been identified in each firm. Major relational constructs examined include channel conflicts and relationships, power sources and relational outcomes. Nine propositions have been derived from the findings. Research and managerial implications have also been discussed. Patterns of channel relationship managementLack of holistic perspective

‘Good’ case research in industrial marketing: Insights from research practice

“…An innovative design can be found in Håkansson, Havila and Pedersen (1999), who conducted in-depth interviews with a main contractor and then surveyed the entire population of its main suppliers to a single project. Liu and Wang (1999) successfully amalgamated different sources of evidence within each of the four case study firms: interviews with high and middle level management, questionnaire survey and analysis of archival records. The methods of analysis followed were within/cross case study analysis and cluster analysis.…”

“…combination of in-depth interviews, observation and a questionnaire survey, within the case study design. For example, Liu and Wang (1999), who employed the case study approach to explore channel relationship management in China, incorporated three data collection methods in the case study design, i.e. interviews with top management, questionnaire surveys of interviewees and secondary sources.…”

Power, conflict, and cooperation: The impact of guanxi in Chinese marketing channels

“…However, developing an effective distribution channel depends on cooperation among channel members, and conflicts among them are common due to their different or contradictory interests. It is thus imperative for these companies to learn about Chinese marketing channels, including both the channel structure (Goldman & Zhao, 1998;Zhuang, Herndon, & Zhou, 2003) and the behavior of channel members (Liu & Wang, 1999;Zhuang & Zhou, 2004).…”

Power‐base Research in Marketing Channels: A Narrative Review

“…, ; Lee ; Zhao et al . ) and indirect systems (Sheu and Hu ) have been used as well as measures of influence strategies (Hu and Sheu ; Lai ; Liu and Wang ). Application of the measures appears to have presented problems to the researchers in some cases.…”

“…Methodological issues, as well as issues of categorization, help us to address this question. Methodologically, direct Johnson et al 1990Johnson et al , 1993Lee 2001;Zhao et al 2008) and indirect systems (Sheu and Hu 2009) have been used as well as measures of influence strategies (Hu and Sheu 2005;Lai 2007;Liu and Wang 1999). Application of the measures appears to have presented problems to the researchers in some cases.…”