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The study reported here examines the effects of power on two major outcome variables — commitment and communication — at three different levels of analysis: the individual firm, a cross level, and a dyad level. The hypotheses were tested through dyadic data on advertising agencies and their client firms in South Korea. Results highlight the constructive nature of power in agency-client relationships. The authors also found that: (a) the power of a client firm has a significant effect on commitment and communication; (b) client firms expect a high level of communication with agencies regardless of level of power, and (c) total commitment and total communication at the dyad level do not change much as relative power of a firm increases.

The channels literature lacks a classification scheme for channel systems which can provide insights to their development and management. Consideration of the channel context is essential in marketing products or services in foreign markets. Develops a new taxonomy of channel systems based on three channel contextual factors ‐ environmental uncertainty, value‐added in the downstream channel, and replaceability of suppliers ‐ and discusses each cell in terms of the level of interfirm commitment. The new taxonomy shows that the behavioural process varies with the channel context and high commitment between channel members is appropriate only in certain channel contexts.

Previous research in the area of distributor performance proposed different scales, mostly in western, developed country context. These studies also lacked the consideration of dynamic interaction between variables, which determine the distributor’s performance. This paper proposes a composite Distributor Performance Index (DPI) to evaluate distributors’ performance based on at the “Enables” and “Results”, taking a system dynamics approach. The model results have been discussed and validated, in business marketing channel. The context of this study is India, an emerging market.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the ambiguous relationship of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the relationship between small suppliers and their multinational enterprise (MNE) customers.

This is a literature review paper which develops a conceptual model of IT‐mediated relationships between small suppliers and large MNE customers. The framework integrates transaction cost economics (TCE) and resource based theory (RBV) perspectives and argues that ICT integration both facilitates coordination and monitoring but also impacts on partner opportunism. It is argued that ICT integration can enhance supplier performance given certain circumstances.

The paper clarifies the ambiguous nature of the power‐dependence relationship between small suppliers and their multinational customers.

ICT both facilitates the governance relationship, balances the power between these key players but also heightens ability to exert control, which is a paradoxical effect.

The role of call-centres during service recovery has attracted much attention in research. However, marketers know less about controlling customers during recovery interactions and consequences of such control. In order to address this gap and empirically ascertain whether service interactions are marked by customer centricity or by employees exerting control over customers, the aim of the authors was to organise an empirical research in two Brazilian call-centres.

The research consisted of direct, open observation and 33 semi-structured interviews with insiders (call-centre managers, supervisors and operatives).

Four key findings emerged during interviews with insiders. First, control over customers may be more widely practiced than assumed in certain sections of marketing academe. Second, such control is viewed positively by call-centre insiders and is sanctioned by management. Third, control does not disempower and demoralise call-centre staff but protects operatives. Finally, control does not seem to unavoidably generate lasting customer dissatisfaction. These findings are incorporated in a framework of call-centre management which incorporates control through scripting.

The discussion calls for the revisit of certain marketing concepts and philosophies, including customer orientation, by demonstrating that control over customers is practised and should not be viewed negatively or avoided altogether in practice and as a topic of analysis. A re-conceptualisation of call-centres as sites of control over customers is proposed.

Control and power are rarely analysed in services marketing. This is one of a few studies that makes sense of providers' (insiders') viewpoints and argues that control may play a constructive role and should be seen as a legitimate topic of services and call-centre analysis. As such it addresses a question of intellectual and practical importance which is rarely discussed and may be viewed as incongruous with an age when customers are assumed to have rights.

This study aims to examine the underlying mechanism of buyer–seller ties and salespeople’s performance. Also examined was the moderating effects of the density of the customer network in which the salesperson is embedded.

The study developed a framework incorporating five key variables: strength of ties, network benefits, network density, sales effectiveness and sales revenue. The framework was tested using data from insurance companies in China.

Process regression and stepwise regression results indicated that information, influence and solidarity benefit will mediate the effects of strength of ties on sales effectiveness both when taken as a set and separately. Information, influence and solidarity benefit will mediate the effects of strength of ties on sales revenue when taken as a set, but only influence will mediate the effect separately. In addition, the positive relationship between strength of ties and solidarity benefit is weaker when network density is high.

Sales managers should initiate trainings and workshops about how to obtain high-quality information from customers, improving influencing power and establishing solidarity with customers. Moreover, salespeople should avoid conducting business with a group of customers if they are densely connected to one another.

On the one hand, this study contributes to the underlying mechanism research on buyer–seller ties and sales performance. On the other hand, it contributes to the contingency research on sales performance and the development of social network theory.

The aim of this paper is to develop a comprehensive framework of supply chain performance that includes relationship, operational, strategic and economic performance measures.

The literature regarding inter-organizational performance including: supply chain management, logistics and marketing performance measures is reviewed. A synthesis of the review provides the foundation for developing a comprehensive model of supply chain management performance.

The review and synthesis finds that supply chain performance focuses primarily on operational and economic performance measures while paying less attention to relational and strategic performance measures. The comprehensive framework identifies four major categories of supply chain performance measures: relational; operational; strategic; and economic – hence the name ROSE.

This comprehensive framework identifies four types of supply chain measures that can be used as a guiding framework by both academics and practitioners. The paper also offers directions for future work in the form of propositions.