Influence tactics and marketing channel relationship management

Abstract

Purpose This study investigates how rational, coercive and emotional influence tactics affect key factors in managing relationships between marketing channel members, i.e. knowledge transfer, relational capital and channel conflict management. Design/methodology/approach A three-way time-lagged sample data were obtained from purchase managers of 559 firms across industries in Vietnam. Structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the data and test hypotheses in the research model. Findings The results indicate that rational tactics positively affect knowledge transfer, relational capital and channel conflict management. However, coercive tactics have a contrasting effect and emotional tactics have a mixed impact on these three factors. Moreover, knowledge transfer and relational capital mediate the link between influence tactics and channel conflict management. Originality/value This study contributes to the extant literature by clarifying the mechanism through which different types of influence tactics affect the key factors in marketing channel relationship management. The findings highlight various tactics managers can use to foster knowledge transfer, relational capital and channel conflict management.