Manufacturer Perceptions and Responses to Destructive Behaviors of Distributors

This study develops a model to understand perceived destructive acts of distributors from manufacturers' viewpoints. A mixed method research design including qualitative and quantitative analyses is used in this empirical study, yielding the following findings: (1) manufacturers perceive more destructive acts of distributors when there is higher network density but fewer when there is network centrality; (2) the higher the total dependence is and the more norms there are, the fewer destructive acts of distributors that occur; however, the more normative contracts there are, the more destructive acts of distributors that occur; (3) perceived destructive acts of distributors lead to a lowering of goal achievement and relationship quality; (4) as total dependence and relational norms of channel relationship increases, positive strategies of manufacturers are more favorable than negative ones, but formal contracts do not; (5) the response to positive strategies of manufacturers has more favorable effects than that to negative strategies on both goal achievement and relationship quality; and (6) the perceived destructive acts of distributors and response strategies of manufacturers exert partial mediating effects during destructive process. Finally, in this paper, both theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.