Business to business governance structure and marketing strategy

This study tries to find an answer to the question: Are different marketing channel governance structural dimensions equally conducive for different marketing strategies? The results from an empirical study suggest that different dimensions of channel governance structure may not be equally conducive for different marketing strategies. Specifically, a high level of centralization in channel governance has no significant association with any of the marketing strategies; whereas a high level of formalization is positively associated only with a focus strategy. In comparison, participation is positively associated with both differentiation and price leadership strategies, but negatively associated with a focus strategy. Furthermore, a post hoc analysis was conducted to get more clarity of these relationships. A discussion of the findings along with their implications and limitations are also presented.

► We analyze how channel governance structure affects marketing strategies. ► A high level of centralization has no effect on marketing strategies. ► A high level of formalization has a positive effect on focus strategy. ► Participation positively affects differentiation and price leadership strategies. ► Participation negatively affects focus strategy.