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This monograph progresses from a consideration of definitional issues to the development of a conceptual model for marketing‐logistics interaction and finally to a discussion of the issues of implementation of the model within the context of marketing strategy. Thus, following an introduction, Part II begins with definition of the field and examines the position of physical distribution in relation to marketing. Part III discusses the relationship of physical distribution and macro‐marketing, and is thus concerned about the social, aggregative goals of logistics systems, including the costs of distribution. Part IV continues this argument, examining specifically the influence of physical distribution on channel structure. Part V then focuses on the assumptions underlying the customer service function, asking how physical distribution can influence final demand in the market place. Part VI presents a conceptual model of marketing‐logistics demand stimulation. The operational issues concerned with its implementation are shown in Part VII; and a summary of the relevant points is presented in Part VIII. The concern has been not with presenting either new computational models nor empirical data but with presenting a new perspective on the marketing‐logistics interface. There is a need to reduce the barriers between these fields and to present more useful ways for co‐operation.

In 1967, Louis P. Bucklin proposed the principle of postponement‐speculation as a basis for predicting and explaining the existence of speculative inventories in the marketing channel: “The combined principle of postponement‐speculation may be stated as follows: A speculative inventory will appear at each point in the distribution channel whenever its costs are less than the net savings to both buyers and sellers from postponement.” In other words, for a middleman to intervene between a seller and a buyer, he must demonstrate his ability and willingness to perform certain marketing functions in such a way that savings result, or satisfactions are greater, for both of the original trading partners. Therefore, the economic justification for a middleman's existence is his superior efficiency in performing basic marketing tasks and functions.

A clear definition is only one requirement in understanding and measuring a concept. A system of notations is also required. The crudest channel notational form is the familiar one of a line connecting two or more channel levels with an indication of the level type. For example: M‐W‐R‐C is a three level channel made up of a manu‐facturer (usually one, in the manner befitting normal manufacturer oriented channel concepts), and an unspecified number of wholesalers, retailers and consumers. No indication is provided of such dimensions as the number at each level, the nature of the flow (though the assumption is it is all going in one direction in which the manu‐facturer is the origin and the consumer is the destination), the volume and value of product involved, the time period concerned, and the characteristics of the involved middlemen (both wholesalers and retailers) in terms of their operating methods, product assortments, size distribution, geographic location and dispersion, ownership and control, etc.

One of the more engrossing facets of marketing in the United States is the metamorphosis of retail institutional form. For well over 100 years, many historians and marketers have been fascinated by the successful entry of new types of retail organisations into the market and the gradual demise of the old. This interest has resulted in an extensive literature describing these changes and, in more recent years, a succession of theories to explain the process.

This study examines the extent to which retailer's country of origin and product assortment influence retailer operating practices. Although conventional wisdom suggests practices are likely to vary by country, universal aspects of the retailing task may lead to similarities in retailing practices for a given product, regardless of national setting. To empirically investigate whether country or product is the dominant influence in determining retailer behavior, data on retailer activities in India and Africa is examined.

The marketing of food products in the rapidly growing urban centres of developing countries is one of the major distribution challenges facing government planners, marketing analysts, and nutritionists. The small, undercapitalised and weakly managed firms; the clogged retail and wholesale terminals, the high food spoilage rates, and the pervasive distrust of the middleman are all too painfully evident. For the broad masses of the urban poor these problems are particularly critical. The pattern of existing studies of food distribution in such countries has been to focus upon the price‐cost margins of existing middlemen or upon the efficiency of the distributive chain. While such studies are of great importance, the vital issue of whether existing forces are operating to produce desired change is seldom directly addressed. If appropriate public policy is to be developed, it is necessary to know if the pace and direction of existing change is sufficient to meet the requirements of the expanding population. Is meaningful relief underway or, indeed, is the system deteriorating? Studies of food marketing in developing countries are incomplete unless these questions are answired.

Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.

Channel control has become increasingly more important to both marketing practitioners and researchers. The manufacturers' ability to influence the marketing policies, strategies, and tactics of other channel members has been recognised as a critical element in the organisation's survival and effectiveness. However, current trends in the economy have made channel control by the manufacturer increasingly difficult. One technique that can help increase manufacturer control by increasing channel dependence is the use of minimum order quantities.