The Nature of Power in Marketing Channels

While power-relationship commitment theory in relationship marketing area has been established well in the west literature, few studies examine the robustness of it in the Chinese context with a different culture. The generalization of power-relationship commitment theory in supply chain triple relationships may also extend our knowledge in this important area. Most of the previous studies on power-relationship commitment only investigated the relationship between two major types of power and one or two types of relationship commitment in the dyadic inter-organizational relationships. Five types of power used by the suppliers or customers and their impacts on manufacturers' two types of relationship commitment are examined based on 617 manufacturing companies in Chinese supply chains. The influence of two types of relationship commitment on supply chain performance is also investigated in this study from the perspectives of both suppliers and customers. The results indicate that...

International Journal of Management Reviews, 2014

This paper provides a contemporary and comprehensive review of work in the marketing channel field that is based on French and Raven's power-base theory. It traces the development of theoretic, conceptual and methodological orthodoxies from the 1970s. Mirroring the movement towards the relationship marketing paradigm, the paper considers the theory's empirical contribution to knowledge of power, conflict, trust and commitment in marketing channels. Limitations relating to inconsistency of treatment, contradictory findings and the simplification of complex phenomena are identified. Nevertheless, current work extends power-base theory to other cultures, other styles of research and to the area of supply chains. The review raises questions about the value of contribution made using this theory and notes the surprising absence within the channels literature of the broader, current debate about power. To illustrate, the paper shows how Clegg's (1989. Frameworks of Power. London: Sage) circuits of power framework, if applied to channel contexts, could address forms of power that are invisible, anonymous and not necessarily negative. Applications and methods are discussed, opening a space wherein a broadened understanding of power is integrated within a focus upon cooperative channels.

Purpose -Distribution channels cannot function without cooperation. While evidence suggests channel power plays a fundamental role in fostering successful manufacturer-dealer channel cooperation in Western countries distribution systems, little is known empirically as to how dealers'possession of non-mediated powers influence SME manufacturers' cooperation in Asian developing countries.

Journal of Operations Management, 2008

Supply chain integration (SCI) has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners in recent years. However, our knowledge of what influences SCI is still very limited. Although marketing and management researchers have investigated power and relationship commitment issues between organizations, few have examined their impact on SCI. This paper extends the power-relationship commitment theory established in Western marketing literature and links it with SCI in China, through examining the relationship between power, relationship commitment and the integration between manufacturers and their customers. We propose and empirically test a model using data collected from 617 manufacturing companies in China. The results show that different types of customer power impact manufacturers' relationship commitment in different ways. Expert power, referent power and reward power are important in improving manufacturers' normative relationship commitment, while reward power and coercive power enhance instrumental relationship commitment. We also found that normative relationship commitment had a greater impact on customer integration than instrumental relationship commitment. These findings are interpreted in light of national culture differences between China and the U.S. in terms of power distance and collectivism, which provides a new perspective on SCI.

The study investigates how Japanese distributors of U.S. manufactured consumer products perceive the exercise of power sources by both themselves and their U.S. suppliers in the across-culture distribution channel. The mediated and nonmediated bases of power found in domestic relationships were not replicated in Japanese distributors' perceptions. Results indicate a factor structure based on nurturing and authoritative bases of power. The Japanese also react to the exercise of power sources in a slightly different manner than Western channel participants.

This paper discuss empirical model of business relationship in Indonesia retail industry. Empirical framework of this paper based on relationship marketing concept and power imbalance of retail industry. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of Power asymmetry and relationship marketing to supplier and retailer economic performance in a business relationship. Result of this paper is empirical framework to analyze Indonesia retail industry. We analyze our empirical model by using Path Analysis. Samples of this study are retailers and suppliers in three major cities in Indonesia, they are Semarang, Surakarta and Jogjakarta. Our unit analysis is dyadic based on the nature concept of relationship marketing proposed by Morgan and Hunt (1994). Main construct of business relationship and technical model of estimation to conduct research about relationship marketing and power imbalance in Indonesia retail industry is also discussed.

Analele Universitatii Bucuresti. Seria Stiinte Economice si Administrative, Annals of the University of Bucharest: Economic and Administrative Series, Issue 5, 2011, pp. 131-148, ISSN: 1842-9327, 2011

Coordination between two different business entities is an important way to gain competitive advantage as it lowers interaction costs. This paper reviews literature dealing with supply chains, marketing channels and buyer seller relations. A general dynamic model has been developed in order to link all the interactive processes that characterize a vertical relationship.

Journal of Supply Chain Management, 2013

Buyer supplier relationships involve dyadic interactions, but there is a dearth of empirical dyadic analysis of relationships. While relationships with a power balance between partners do exist, relationships typically occur in the context of power asymmetry. This study examines how perceptions of power use and prevailing relationship quality in dyadic relationships characterized by substantial power asymmetry affects behavioral and operational outcomes. Hierarchical regression is used to analyze data from dyadic survey of relationships of a brand-name buying organization and its suppliers. Results indicate that power use affects partner behavior and operational performance, but the nature of the relationship dictates which power sources are most appropriate. In addition the mediation effect of power imbalance shows that both relational and transactional factors can play an important role in supply chain exchanges.

The Service Industries Journal, 2007