distribution behavioral

• Social System

  generated by any process of interaction on the sociocultural level between two or more actors
• Actor


  Either a concrete human individual (a person) or a collectivity
• Conflict in the Marketing Channel


  When a member of the marketing channel perceives that another member's actions impeded the attainment of his or her goals
• Competition


  Behavior that is object-centered, indirect, and impersonal
• Conflict


  Direct, personal, and opponent-centered behavior
• Causes of Channel Conflict

  • Misunderstood communications
  • Divergent functional specializations and goals of channel members
  • Failings in joint decision-making
  • Differing economic objectives
  • Ideological differences of channel members
  • Inappropriate channel structure
• 7 Categories of Channel Conflict

  • Role incongruities
  • Resource scarcities
  • Perceptual differences
  • Expectational differences
  • Decision domain disagreements
  • Goal incompatibilities
  • Communication difficulties
• Channel Efficiency


  The degree to which the total investment in the various inputs necessary to achieve a given distribution objective can be optimized in terms of outputs
• Conflict can affect channel efficiency
• Managing Channel Conflict


  1. Detect channel conflict

  2. Appraising the effect of conflict

  3. Resolving conflict
• Power in the Marketing Channel

  The capacity of a particular channel member to control or influence the behavior of another channel member(s)
• Types of Power


  • Reward Power
  • Coercive Power
  • Legitimate Power
  • Referent Power
  • Expert Power
• The use of coercive power can reduce the stability and viability of the channel and is likely to increase the probability that the coerced channel members will seek outside assistance
• Communication in the Marketing Channel

  The glue that holds together a channel of distribution
• Behavioral Problems in Channel Communications

  • Differing Goals
  • Language Differences
  • Inadequate Frequency of Communication
• Role incongruities

  Members of the marketing channel have a series of roles they are expected to fulfill
• Resource scarcities

  stems from a disagreement between channel members over the allocation of some valuable resources needed to achieve their respective goals
• Perceptual differences

  Perception refers to the way an individual selects and interprets environmental stimuli
• Expectational differences

  various channel members have expectations about the behavior of other channel members. These expectations are predictions or forecasts concerning the future behavior of other channel members
• Decision domain disagreements

  Channel members explicitly or implicitly carve out for themselves an area of decision-making that they feel is exclusively theirs
• Goal incompatibilities

   Each member of the marketing channel has his or her own goals
• Negative Effect

  results to Reduced Efficiency
• No Effect

  results to Efficiency remains constant
• Positive Effect

  results to Efficiency is increased
• Detect channel conflict

  Channel managers can detect potential conflict areas by surveying other channel members’ perceptions of his or her performance. Such surveys can be conducted by outside research firms, or trade associations
• Appraising the effect of conflict

  A growing body of literature has been emerging to assist the channel manager in developing methods for measuring conflict and its effect on channel efficiency
• Resolving conflict

  When conflict exists in the channel, the channel manager should take action to resolve the conflict if it appears to be adversely affecting channel efficiency
• Reward Power

  capacity of one channel member to reward another if the latter conforms to the influence of the former
• Coercive Power

  a channel member’s power over another is based on the expectation that the former will be able to punish the latter upon failure to conform to the former’s influence attempts
• Legitimate Power

  power base stems from internalized norms in one channel member which dictate that another channel member has a legitimate right to influence the first, and that an obligation exists to accept that influence
• Referent Power

  When one channel member perceives his or her goals to be closely allied to, or congruent with, those of another member, a referent power base is likely to exist
• Expert Power

  derived from the knowledge (or perception) that one channel member attributes to another in some given area. In other words, one channel member’s attempt to influence the other’s behavior is based upon superior expertise
• coercive power

  foster conflict and promote dissatisfaction to a greater degree than other power bases
• Differing Goals

  manufacturer's growth goal may differ from his retailer, channel members should attempt to understand the goals of their channel members to learn whether they are much different from those of their own firms
• Language Differences

  other basic communication problem between the manufacturer and channel members stems from the terminology or jargon used by professional corporate management
• Inadequate Frequency of Communication

  association of infrequent communication with lower quality communications applies