THE NATURE AND VALUE OF DYADIC CHANNEL RELATIONSHIPS: EFFECTS ON MEMBER SATISFACTION.

Abstract

The focus of the research is the management of dyadic channel relationships and, specifically, the formation of channel member satisfaction. Based upon the conceptualization of channels as social and political systems, member satisfaction is proposed as a function of the nature of the channel relationship, as represented by perceived power use, conflict, cooperation, and the definition of channel roles. Further, satisfaction is proposed as a function of the value of the channel relationship to members, as indicated by member performance relative to desired achievement levels. The research setting consists of the dyadic relationship between retailers and the dominant wholesaler in a contractual channel system, focusing on the retailer's satisfaction with the channel relationship. Self-administered questionnaires to 405 dyadic pairs of retail store owners and sales representatives of the wholesaling firm were used to obtain multiple measures of the research constructs. Particular analysis attention was given to the reliability and validity of measures and to the hypothesized relationships among constructs. The results of the research provide support for positive relationships between member satisfaction and role expectations, relative member size, and member performance and a negative relationship between member satisfaction and role stress. High correlations among measures of satisfaction, conflict, cooperation, and noneconomic power sources suggest that the measures are highly related and may not be discriminant, implying that they represent a more general construct, the attitudinal orientation of channel members.