Relationship Between Exporters and Their Foreign Sales and Marketing Intermediaries: (16 Advances in International Marketing)

Middlemen in international markets are one of the most critical components of firms' international marketing strategy. They constitute the main link between the exporter and the local market, and are thereby the 'extended arm' of the exporter organisation. This volume of AIM analyses different aspects of relations between exporters and their middlemen: selection and governance, information exchange and learning, cultural aspects and finally, the dynamics of such relations. The volume should be seen as a continuation of a stream of literature that has emerged over the last five to ten years. This volume is more concerned with the phenomena under study than with casting light on one particular theoretical perspective. The contributions represented here are therefore drawing on a number of different theoretical streams: agency theory, transaction cost economics, network theory, economic sociology, resource base theory and its applied 'offspring', Internationalisation Process school of thought. It features researchers from universities in nine different countries, representing both well-established and young academicians. This is a manifest indication of the importance of this field of research. The book is an invaluable asset to students both at the graduate and doctoral levels, and should be a must for researchers in this particular field. Also practitioners will find this book stimulating in their quest for improvements to their relations with their foreign middlemen.

Table of Contents:
Preface. Introduction. Factors Affecting SME Export Channel Choice in Foreign Markets. Beyond Transaction Cost Determinants: An Integrated Framework for Export Intermediary Selection in Emerging Economies. Legal Versus Relational Ordering in Channel Governance: The Case of the Manufacturer and its Foreign Distributor. Relational Drivers, Controls and Relationship Quality in Exporter-Foreign Middleman Relations. Delivering Value: Market Orientation and Distributor Selection in Export Markets. The Effect of Information Collection Behavior on Market Performance: The Role of Partner Relationships. Utilizing Relational Governance in Export Relationships: Leveraging Learning and Improving Flexibility and Satisfaction. Managing Channel Relations in China: An Exploratory Study. Buyer Tolerance of Conflict in Cross National Business Relationships: An Empirical Study. Identifying Differences in Foreign Customers' Relational Behavior: An Exploratory Study Using Multidemensional Scaling. An Exploratory Examination of the Factors Influencing Distributor Self-Perceived Power in Channel Relationships: A Seven Country Study. Timing and Sequencing of Strategic Actions in Internationalizaiton Processes Involving Intermediaries A Network Persective. The Termination Dilemma of Foreign Intermediaries: Performance, Anti-Shirking Measures and Hold-up Safeguards. Exporter Governance of Integrated and Independent Marketing Channel Members in International Markets: Moderating Effects of Stage of Relationships and Operation Mode.