Channel relationship in China's beer industry : the influences of power in distributor/retailer's satisfaction, dependence and conflict.

Abstract

A structural model describing the relationships among the bases of power, dependency, perceptions of conflicts and satisfaction was developed and tested in the context of manufacturer-distributor/retailer channel in the Hainan province of China. In total, 35 in-depth interviews with the Hainan beer distributors were conducted and a survey that comprised 98 completed questionnaires were used in the analysis. In general, most of the hypothesised relationships amongst the constructs were supported, but with a somewhat deviant results from those of the western research. In particular, the clustering of the power bases into economie and non-economic dimensions could not hold in the Chinese distribution context, and as such, the power bases should be treated as separate in this context.