14 Aug Could you write a 2.5 pages summary about the main point of this article and few

Could you write a 2.5 pages summary about the main point of this article and few details which spot-on.Journal of Retailing 91 (4, 2015) 569–585ReviewThe Evolution of Marketing Channel Research Domains and Methodologies:An Integrative Review and Future DirectionsManfred Krafft a,∗,4 , Oliver Goetz b,1,4 , Murali Mantrala c,2,4 , Francesca Sotgiu d,3,4 ,Sebastian Tillmanns a,1,4aUniversity of Muenster, Institute of Marketing, Am Stadtgraben 13-15, 48143 Muenster, Germanyb Reutlingen University, ESB Business School, Alteburgstraße 150, 72762 Reutlingen, Germanyc University of Missouri, 403 Cornell Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USAd HEC Paris, 1 rue de la Libération, 78351 Jouy-en-Josas cedex, FranceAvailable online 22 August 2015AbstractMarketing channels are among the most important elements of any value chain. This is because the bulk of a nation’s manufacturing output flowsthrough them. The intermediaries (e.g., distributors, wholesalers, retailers) constituting marketing channels perform specific distribution functions,such as transportation, storage, sales, financing, and relationship building, better than most manufacturers. Over his distinguished career, Louis P.Bucklin investigated many questions about the structuring and functioning of marketing channels using conceptual, empirical, and microeconomicsmodel-based methodologies. Today, the academic marketing literature contains hundreds of articles that have employed these three broad classesof methodologies to investigate issues of channel intermediaries’ interorganizational relationships, for example, power-dependence, relationaloutcomes, conflict and negotiations, and manufacturing firms’ channel strategy, for example, channel structure, selection, coordination and control.So far, however, there has been no review of how the three different methodologies have contributed to advancing knowledge across this set ofchannels research domains. This paper is the first that aims to (1) chart how channels research employing each of the three classes of methodologies– conceptual, empirical, microeconomics model-based – has evolved over seven decades along with current trends; (2) review the contributions andshortcomings of research to date using these methodologies; and (3) suggest future research opportunities using these methodologies, separatelyor in an integrated fashion.© 2015 New York University. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Keywords: Marketing channels; Literature review; Research trends; Methodologies (conceptual, empirical, microeconomic model-based research); Future researchIntroductionMarketing channels are sets of interdependent organizationsor ‘intermediaries’ engaged in the process of making manufacturers’ (or producers’) products or services available totheir end-users (Kumar, Scheer, and Steenkamp 1995a, p. 348).∗Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 251 83 25025.E-mail addresses: m.krafft@uni-muenster.de (M. Krafft),oliver.goetz@reutlingen-university.de (O. Goetz), mantralam@missouri.edu(M. Mantrala), sotgiu@hec.fr (F. Sotgiu), s.tillmanns@uni-muenster.de(S. Tillmanns).1 Tel.: +49 251 83 25025.2 Tel.: +1 573 884 2734.3 Tel.: +31 6 46 340 950.4 All authors contributed equally to this paper.In marketing channels of various forms connecting producersand end-consumers, the major types of intermediaries includewholesalers or distributors, retailers, and agents/brokers. Marketing channels are among the most important elements of anyvalue chain and their importance stems from the fact that significant amounts of a nation’s economic outputs flow through them.For example, total revenues of US wholesale distributors grewby 4.2 percent to $5.1 trillion in 2013, representing about 30percent of US nominal GDP according to the 2014 WholesaleDistribution Economic Trends Reports published by ModernDistribution Management (http://www.mdm.com/wdetr). Similarly, turning to retailers, eMarketer reports total retail sales inthe US topped $4.53 trillion in 2013, amounting to about 27percent of nominal US GDP (www.eMarketer.com). Manufacturers, of course, do not always need marketing channel intermediaries to sell their goods to consumer and industrial markets.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2015.05.0010022-4359/© 2015 New York University. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.570M. Krafft et al. / Journal of Retailing 91 (4, 2015) 569–585However, intermediaries perform certain functions such as transportation, storage, selling, advertising, and relationship buildingbetter than most manufacturers. Today, as the forms of channelsand intermediary types have proliferated, producers’ marketingchannel choices and decisions are becoming as important andcomplex as the decisions they make about product features andprices.Not surprisingly, academic research on marketing channelsdesign, inter-organizational relationships, and operations, hasgrown steadily since the early works of marketing scholars suchas Louis Stern and Louis Bucklin. As exemplified by the works ofBucklin, channels research articles have tended to employ threebroad classes of research methodologies – conceptual, empirical, and microeconomics model-based – to investigate issuesof channel intermediaries’ inter-organizational relationships, forexample, power-dependence, relational outcomes, conflict andnegotiations, and manufacturers’ strategic choices with respectto channels such as channel structure, selection, coordination,and control. While several reviews of this research have beenpublished to date, they have tended to be narrow in their conceptual and methodological scope, as well as focused on limitedtime windows or papers appearing in only one journal (see, e.g.,the recent papers by Brown and Dant 2008; Grewal and Levy2007). The present paper is the first that aims to (1) chart howchannels research employing each of the three classes of methodologies – conceptual, empirical, microeconomics model-based– has evolved over seven decades along with current trends;(2) review the contributions and shortcomings of research todate using these methodologies; and (3) suggest future researchopportunities using these methodologies, separately or in anintegrated fashion.The rest of this paper is organized as follows: In the nextsection, we define the scope and process of our search of the literature resulting in a database of 362 previous papers utilized forthis article. We also define the three selected classes of researchmethodologies and their distinctions, as well as the six selectedresearch domains, that is, areas of study that include constructs,theories, and procedures (MacInnis 2011), for example, powerdependence research, that have prominently figured in channelsresearch. Subsequently, in the next three sections, we documentthe progress in knowledge and understanding with respect tothe selected research domains using conceptual, empirical, andmicroeconomics model-based approaches. Each of these sections includes a discussion of the key contributions as well asperceived shortcomings of research to date using that methodology, and concludes with some potential directions for futureresearch. In the last section of the paper, we offer a more integrative discussion of the state of channels research methodologiesand insights they have produced and, with the help of severalpersonal interviews with academic experts in the field, we highlight new questions and opportunities for research combiningdifferent methodologies.Articles Database ScopeConsidering the space constraints for this article, our reviewis confined to research on marketing channels that has appearedin the nine, highly ranked, peer-reviewed academic marketing and management research journals, namely, InternationalJournal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal ofService Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,Management Science, Marketing Science, and QuantitativeMarketing and Economics (i.e., any channels-related researchthat has appeared in highly ranked journals of other disciplines,for example, economics, political science, sociology, and soforth is not covered in this article). We manually searched thesenine journals for channels-related research articles and wheneverwe identified one, we also examined its references for additionalrelevant studies as well as Google Scholar lists of articles citing the identified article. This procedure is consistent with theapproach recommended by Hunter and Schmidt (1990). As aresult, we identified a total of 362 channels research articles.Subsequently, each article was classified according to its primaryresearch methodology as well as the primary channels researchdomain/s addressed by it. Note that this means that there areinstances where the same article is counted as contributing tomore than one research domain if they all received the same levelof importance in the paper (see Grewal and Levy (2007) for asimilar procedure). A structured overview by methodology anddomain and list of those articles is available as a Web Appendix.Next, we more precisely define and distinguish between the threeclasses of research methodologies and the six research domains.Research MethodologiesAs already indicated, channels research methodologiesemployed in articles in our database fall into three broad classes:conceptual, empirical, and microeconomics model-based. Conceptual articles mainly focus on theory development and do notpresent any data, or perform any data analyses for theory testing (Yadav 2010). These articles contribute either conceptualframeworks, integrative models, or reviews and form the basis ofsubsequent empirical or analytical work (Stewart and Zinkhan2006). (In this paper, like MacInnis (2011), we classify onlypapers that offer or integrate thought-based verbal conceptionsas conceptual research. Research that focuses purely on theorydevelopment but is microeconomic and mathematical in natureis defined as analytical and included under microeconomicsmodel-based methodology.)In contrast, empirical articles offer theoretical advances withempirical support, that is by empirically testing theories or conceptual frameworks with data, they can provide evidence of therelationship between putative causes and observed effects (thetheorized process) and rule out alternative underlying processes(Deighton et al. 2010). Systematically documented data therebyserves as the foundation for developing theories, or assessingthe nature of the relationship between concepts (Wallendorfand Brucks 1993). In this paper, previous articles classified as“empirical” research methodology papers are those that primarily collected and analyzed either qualitative data, survey-baseddata, (longitudinal) panel data, and (lab or field) experimentbased data to investigate and shed light on marketing channelstrategy and behavior questions.M. Krafft et al. / Journal of Retailing 91 (4, 2015) 569–585Lastly, microeconomics is a branch of economics that mathematically analyzes the market behavior of individual consumersand firms in an attempt to understand the decision-makingprocess of firms and households. More specifically, microeconomics is concerned with interactions between and choicesmade by individual buyers and sellers. With regard to the extantmarketing channels literature, microeconomics model-basedmethodology can be further classified into three subcategories:(i) decision support modeling, (ii) analytical modeling; and (iii)analytical-empirical structural model-based research. Analytical models (e.g., McGuire and Staelin 1983) typically employnon-cooperative game theory and equilibrium analyses. Theyare aimed at a theoretical explanation of the key forces underlying a channels phenomenon or, more specifically, at answeringwhy-and-how questions of a strategic channels issue (Coughlanet al. 2010) and at “testing and refining conventional wisdom about situations with strategic interactions” between actors(Thomadsen et al. 2012, p. 382). In contrast, decision support models are primarily prescriptive in nature and tend toemploy reduced-form models of quantitative market responsesto marketing variables, which are subsequently utilized in firmlevel decision optimization models (e.g., Rangan, Zoltners, andBecker 1986). Finally, structural models are usually derivedon the basis of individual agents’ optimizing behavior (e.g.,utility maximizing by consumers, profit maximizing by firms)(Chintagunta et al. 2006) and the appropriateness of underlying assumptions tested and investigated with actual data (e.g.,Kadiyali, Chintagunta, and Vilcassim 2000; Lee et al. 2013;Sudhir 2001).Table 1 shows the distribution over time of conceptual,empirical, and microeconomics model-based research papersin our database. Specifically, 177 of the 362 distinct papers inour database are primarily empirical, 130 are microeconomicsmodel-based, and 55 are conceptual. The number of papers taking a purely ‘conceptual’ approach to channels research hasevidently declined over time, while the numbers of empirical andmicroeconomics model-based papers have steadily increased,with microeconomics-based analytical models becoming moreprominent of late.Next, we specify six research domains addressed by the 362articles in our database and the distribution of articles acrossthem.Research DomainsUpon review, we find the foci of channels research papers inour database fall into one or more of six broad research domainssummarized below:1. Power-Dependence Relationships: Power has been a central construct in channels research since its early days, forexample, Alderson (1957). In general, power is the ability tocause someone to do something s/he would not have done otherwise (Gaski 1984). More specifically, power refers to onechannel member’s ability to influence another channel memberto alter her/his behavior in favor of the objectives of the channelmember exerting influence (Wilemon 1972). Thus, power is thepotential for influence (Coughlan et al. 2006). El-Ansary and571Stern (1972) operationally define a channel member’s power asher/his ability to control the decision variables in the marketing strategy of another member in a given channel at a differentdistribution level. Moreover, following Emerson (1962), powerstems from the dependence of one member on another. For example, the power of a wholesaler over a dealer is related to thedealer’s dependence on the wholesaler. Gaski (1984) notes thatchannel member dependence and sources of power in marketing channels are conceptually inseparable. Understanding thepower-dependence patterns in a channel has always been viewedas key to understanding the channel strategy outcomes and itslong-term viability (El-Ansary and Stern 1972).2. Relational Outcomes: Relational exchange in a channelsetting can be defined as “ongoing transfers of value betweenindependent channel members where interactions and associations of personnel affect governance” (Frazier 1999, p. 231).Therefore, relational outcomes are of fundamental importance tounderstand channel members’ relationships and to evaluate theirmanagement efforts. Research investigations of channel members’ relationships have considered several relational outcomessuch as satisfaction, opportunism, trust, commitment, and fairness (Geyskens, Steenkamp, and Kumar 1999; Kumar, Scheer,and Steenkamp 1995b; Mohr and Nevin 1990).3. Conflict: Conflict in marketing channels is an inherentaspect of interdependent relationships that impedes, blocks, orfrustrates a channel member in the pursuit of its goals (Sternand El-Ansary 1977; Thomas 1976). More specifically, channel conflict mirrors the tension between two or more channelmembers which arises when channel members have mutuallyexclusive or incompatible goals, values, and interests (Stern1970). Accordingly, it can be seen as the disagreement orlack of goal congruence between channel members with eachparty attempting to achieve its own goals (Samaha, Palmatier,and Dant 2011). It is widely seen as a dynamic process composed of a series of episodes with each episode determined toa substantial degree by the previous one (Rosenberg and Stern1970). Certain feelings, perceptions, and behaviors characterize each episode due to conflict. Unsurprisingly, research intochannel conflict, its outcomes, how it arises, and how it canbe mitigated is of longstanding interest to marketing channelsstrategy.4. Control Mechanisms: A channel member’s power determines the potential to control another channel member’sbehavior (Lucas and Gresham 1985). The control behavior ina channel relationship reflects a channel member’s actual influence and impact on another channel member’s behavior anddecision making (Frazier 1999). Accordingly, a control or governance mechanism refers to the way of organizing transactionsand mechanisms to structure and regulate channel collaborationwith regard to the overall objective in order to inhibit opportunistic behavior or to induce behaviors that reflect channel members’interests (Bucklin 1973; Jap and Ganesan 2000; Luo et al. 2011;Mohr, Fisher, and Nevin 1996).5. Channel Structure and Channel Selection: Within thisresearch domain, we subsume research that deals with manufacturers’ strategic choices regarding the types of membersin a channel, the number of members of each type, and572M. Krafft et al. / Journal of Retailing 91 (4, 2015) 569–585Table 1Distribution of conceptual, empirical and microeconomic model-based articles in compiled database over time.Conceptual articlesBefore 19701971–19801981–19901991–20002001-to dateOverallEmpirical articlesMicroeconomic model-based articlesNumber of papers101715945501846654817743154068130143876114120362understanding the different channels that coexist in the market(Coughlan et al. 2006).6. Negotiations: The conditions for channel collaboration(i.e., prices and other trade terms) are established through bargaining and negotiation. These forms of channel interactionshave a major impact on the profit outcomes throughout the duration of a relationship between channel members (Srivastava,Chakravarti, and Rapoport 2000).Table 2 displays examples of the seminal work per researchdomain and methodology.In the following sections, we chart the evolution of researchemploying each research methodology, and briefly review eachstream’s contributions, shortcomings, current trends, and opportunities for future research.Conceptual Research on Marketing ChannelsIn the early years of channel research there were many purelyconceptual research articles. Table 3 shows the distribution ofconceptual articles over time and across the selected researchdomains. Notably, the number of conceptual research publications has declined since the 1970s. Conversely, more than 75percent of the conceptual articles in our database were published before the 1990s and only four have appeared withinthe last 14 years. This decline has occurred despite periodiccalls for more conceptual research in channels-related areas,for example, Sheth (1996), and Roy, Sivakumar, and Wilkinson(2004), and is in keeping with the general diminution of thenumbers of conceptual research papers in the academic marketing literature noted by Yadav (2010) and MacInnis (2011).A second insight from Table 3 is that the research domains ofchannel power-dependence relationships and channel structureand channel selection attracted the most conceptual research inthe pre-1990s era while the domain of relational outcomes hasreceived more attention since then. Lastly, no purely conceptualpaper on channel negotiations figures in the articles database wehave compiled.MacInnis (2011) has proposed that purely conceptual paperscan make four basic types of contributions to the academic literature: envisioning, explicating, relating, and debating. Therefore,to gain more insight into the nature of contributions made so farby conceptual research papers in channels, we tally the numbersof conceptual papers making these four types of contributionswith respect to each of the six research domains. Table 4 displaysthese data and we see that “explicating” is the most commonform of contribution made by conceptual research papers in themarketing channels literature and then “envisioning”. Accordingto MacInnis (2011), conceptual articles that contribute by wayof explication include those that offer conceptual frameworks,structural frameworks, propositional inventories, and reviews ofprior research in the targeted domain (e.g., Guiltinan 1974). Incontrast, envisioning articles identify new ideas, novel conceptsand perspectives (e.g., Stern and Reve 1980). Our finding thatconceptual articles of the explicating type are most common inchannels research literature is in keeping with MacInnis’s (2011,p. 151) observations about the state of conceptual articles inMarketing as a whole. It is also no surprise that envisioning conceptual articles in channels research are largely concentrated inthe research domains of power-dependence, conflict, and relational outcomes which received a lot of early attention fromchannels scholars.However, the dearth of conceptual articles that make “relating” (which includes truly integrative reviews, as opposed tosummarizations of past research), for example, Hunt (1995), and“debating”, for example, Nevin (1995), contributions is clearlya shortcoming in extant channels research as it is in general marketing research. This is because without review and debate ofreceived theories it is less likely that more envisioning researchwill be undertaken, and without envisioning research, a field ofresearch soon becomes stagnant. Therefore, the tapering off ofconceptual channels research in recent years – especially of therelating, debating, and envisioning kind – even as the channelslandscape becomes more complex and rich because of new technologies and so forth, does not augur well for the field. However,making up these shortfalls in conceptual research methodologybased research will not happen easily or speedily. MacInnis(2011) suggests that researchers have to develop special skills tomake the needed contributions – such as developing divergentthinking skills and a “beginner’s mind” for envisioning, comparative reasoning skills for relating, and syllogistic reasoning skillsfor debating. In addition, innovative conceptual research in channels calls for steps such as taking time off to learn how relateddisciplines are looking at channels and/or immersing oneself incurrent distributive practices. Last but not least, Yadav (2010)advocates more purely conceptual article-friendly review processes at major journals as well as appreciation of the value ofstrong conceptual articles in universities’ promotion and tenureprocesses.Empirical Research on Marketing ChannelsBoth qualitative and quantitative empirical channel studieshave been published over the timespan of articles in our database.The former are far fewer in number, but have been helpful toM. Krafft et al. / Journal of Retailing 91 (4, 2015) 569–585573Table 2Examples of publications classified by research methodology and research domain.PowerdependencerelationshipsRelationaloutcomesConflictControlmechanismsChannel structureand channelselectionNegotiationsConceptual researchStern (1967);Frazier and Antia(1995)Frazier and Sheth(1985); Mohr andNevin (1990)Bucklin (1973);Rosenberg andCampbell (1985)Robicheaux andColeman (1994);Frazier (1999)–Empirical researchEl-Ansary andStern (1972);Heide and John(1988); Lusch andBrown (1996)Anderson andNarus (1990);Kumar, Scheer,and Steenkamp(1995a)Gaski (1984);Lucas andGresham (1985);Hunt (1995)Rosenberg andStern (1971);Brown and Day(1981); Koza andDant (2007)Jap and Ganesan(2000); Antia andFrazier (2001)Dwyer and Oh(1988); Bucklin,Ramaswamy, andMajumdar (1996)Microeconomicmodel-basedresearchChoi (1991,1996); Moorthy(1987)Chu and Desai(1995); Cui, Raju,and Zhang (2007)Jeuland andShugan (1983)Lal and Staelin(1984); Ingeneand Parry (1995a)McGuire andStaelin (1983),Coughlan (1985,1987); Lee andStaelin (1997)McAlister,Bazerman, andFader (1986);Ganesan (1993);Srivastava andChakravarti(2009)Dukes, Gal-Or,and Srinivasan(2006)Table 3Distribution of articles in compiled database by research methodology and research domain over time.YearPower-dependencerelationshipsConceptualarticlesBefore 19701971–19801981–19901991–20002001-to dateOverall4673121EmpiricalarticlesBefore 19701971–19801981–19901991–20002001-to dateOverallMicro-economicmodel-based articlesBefore 19701971–19801981–19901991–20002001-to dateOverallRelationaloutcomesNegotiationsConflictControlm…

Our website has a team of professional writers who can help you write any of your homework. They will write your papers from scratch. We also have a team of editors just to make sure all papers are of HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE. To make an Order you only need to click Ask A Question and we will direct you to our Order Page at WriteDemy. Then fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.