Like any system, a marketing channel will thrive only to the extent it can secure critical resources from the environment. Using a resource dependence perspective, the authors hypothesize that a weaker member's access to relatively munificent output markets can mitigate a power advantage held by the channel partner that otherwise is used to bureaucratize the channel and endanger the quality of the channel relationship. The authors use a structural equation model to analyze data from dealer informants in the auto industry. The results suggest munificence affects the internal workings of the channel.
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