Dual Control of Salesforce in Partially Integrated Channels

•The type of control and the type of controller matter for PIC salesforce performance.•Retailer outcome control improves salesforce performance with manufacturer process control.•Retailer process control diminishes salesforce performance with manufacturer process control.

A manufacturer using a partially integrated channel (PIC) dispatches its own salesforce to the retailers that it sells through. The manufacturer salesforce in a PIC is simultaneously subject to controls by the manufacturer and the retailer, which we call dual control. Despite its increasing prevalence, how dual control influences salesforce performance remains understudied. We develop a discriminating alignment framework through two steps to answer this question. The first step examines the influence of a controller on the efficacy of a control mechanism. The efficacy of a control mechanism varies with the party that exerts control. The second step expands this logic to dual control. The performance effect of dual control is equivocal: It may have a positive, negative, or no influence on salesforce performance depending on discriminating alignment. To improve salesforce performance, a manufacturer's control and a retailer's control must compensate for each other's weaknesses. Empirical tests based on matched dyadic data of dual control of salesforce by apparel manufacturers and retailers support our predictions with considerable theoretical and managerial implications.

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