Influence of marketing channel conflicts on channel innovation capability: the mediating role of channel cohesion and the moderating role of channel network structure

Guangkuan Deng, Jianyu Zhang and Zhiwen Fan

Nankai Business Review International, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 173-193

Abstract: Purpose - In this paper, extending the research on the positive effects of marketing channel conflicts, this paper aims to examine how functional and dysfunctional conflicts influence channel innovation capability by triggering channel cohesion and investigate the moderating role of a distributor’s network structure. Design/methodology/approach - Based on social network theory and Coser’s conflict theory, this paper develops a framework, tested using Chinese manufacturers’ data, which incorporated six key variables, namely, functional conflict, dysfunctional conflict, channel cohesion, channel innovation capability, network density and network centrality. Findings - The empirical results revealed that functional conflict can arouse channel cohesion and that distributor network density and centrality positively moderates this relationship; dysfunctional conflict negatively affects channel cohesion, but distributor network density negatively moderates this relationship; channel cohesion had a mediating effect on the relationship between channel conflict and channel innovation capability. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the research on channel conflict by incorporating the entire channel system’s innovation capability as a positive consequence of channel conflict and expands the channel conflict literature that adopts a network structure perspective.

Keywords: Network centrality; Network density; Channel cohesion; Channel conflict; Channel innovation capability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:nbripp:nbri-11-2019-0059

DOI: 10.1108/NBRI-11-2019-0059

Access Statistics for this article

Nankai Business Review International is currently edited by Dr Xuexiu Wang and Professor Li Wei'an

More articles in Nankai Business Review International from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().