Major dealers' expert power in distribution channels

The importance of major dealers’ expertise in distribution channels and effects on exchange relations is widely acknowledged by many SMEs in Africa and yet there seem to be a paucity of research on this matter. To address this dearth, the current study attempts to examine the impact of major dealers...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Richard Chinomona, Marius Pretorius
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2011-06-01
Series:South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
Online Access:https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/50
Description
Summary:The importance of major dealers’ expertise in distribution channels and effects on exchange relations is widely acknowledged by many SMEs in Africa and yet there seem to be a paucity of research on this matter. To address this dearth, the current study attempts to examine the impact of major dealers’ expert power on SME manufacturers’ channel cooperation and the mediating influence of their trust, relationship commitment and satisfaction. The conceptualized model and five hypotheses are empirically validated using a sample of 452 manufacturing SMEs in Zimbabwe. The findings indicate that major dealers’ expert power may influence SME manufacturers’ trust, relationship commitment, relationship satisfaction and channel cooperation in a significant way. Managerial implications of the research findings are provided.
ISSN:1015-8812
2222-3436