Strategies of Exercising Power and Infirm Cooperation in Marketing Channels: The Moderating Effect of IT Capability

Abstract

Abstract:

In the literature of marketing channel behaviors, power has been an important topic. In the context of the dyadic relationship between manufacturers and distributors, this study incorporates information technology (IT) capability into the research framework of channel power, and investigates its moderating effect on the strategies of exercising power, operationalized as the exercises of coercive power versus exercises of non-coercive power. Based on the survey data of 288 respondents and statistical analysis tests, it finds that IT capability of manufacturers weakens both the negative effect of coercive power exercises and the positive effect of non-coercive power exercises on infirm cooperation in marketing channels. This study and its findings can not only help enrich the literature of channel power but also contribute to the research of channel management in the context of IT revolution. Also the study puts forward new and more meaningful topics by adopting new perspectives and methods.

Key words: IT capability, power usage strategies, use coercive power, use non coercive power, channel cooperation

Feng Chao, Zhuang Guijun, Li Ruqi, Lu Tingyu. Strategies of Exercising Power and Infirm Cooperation in Marketing Channels: The Moderating Effect of IT Capability[J]. , 2019, 31(2): 130-140.

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