Abstract Based on literature review and elaboration, this paper discusses the meanings, characteristics and purposes of marketing channel control, and develops a conceptual model. The major points of the paper are that, firstly, channel control is cross organizational control combined with internal control of firms. Secondly, the main purpose of channel control is to constrain opportunisms involved in marketing channels. Thirdly, governance structure, control mechanism, and control level are major variables of channel control; transaction specific assets, uncertainty, desire and capability of control, and factors related to partners are antecedences of channel control; relationships and interactions between channel members, channel satisfaction, and channel efficiency are the consequences of channel control.
|