Interdependency, Contracting, and Relational Behavior in Marketing Channels

The dependency structure between wholesale-distributors and their major suppliers is posited to influence the type of contract—explicit and normative—used. In turn, dependency structure and type of contract is hypothesized to influence wholesale-distributor performance. This process occurs both directly and indirectly through some intermediate constructs, such as long-term orientation, relationship length, and relational behavior. The authors investigate three dependency structures: wholesaler dependent on supplier, supplier dependent on wholesaler, and high bilateral dependency. They obtain empirical support for many of the hypothesized linkages.