The political economy framework illuminates interplay between the internal and external sociopolitical and economic forces of marketing channels. Framing the collection and analysis of data from retailer informants on channel environments, configuration, and decision structure, a theoretical model is developed for explaining interorganizational responses to uncertainty and dependence constraints of the channel environment. Heterogeneity is hypothesized to precipitate complex and fluid channel structures as a means of coping with uncertainty. In contrast, high levels of variability in the output environment are expected to foster vertical integration and bureaucratization as a means of reducing dependence. Support for both hypotheses is reported and implications for future research are discussed.
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