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A meta-analytic review of influence strategies in marketing channel relationships

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Abstract

Influence strategies (ISs) are a dominant topic in channel research. However, the literature lacks a consensus on when noncoercive and coercive strategies are more valuable or damaging to partnership quality, and their judicious applications remain unclear. Mainly based on social exchange perspectives, we review and conceptualize several contingency factors in the IS-partnership quality relationships in this metaanalysis. The moderating results generally suggest that the stronger positive impacts of noncoercive ISs result from a higher appreciation for supportive attempts, whereas the higher negative sensitivity to coercive ISs can be attributed to the low acceptability of forceful influences. We determine degrees of appreciation and acceptability by the perceived significance of benefits/damages, expectations, and tolerance levels for both strategies. Also, we synthesize and meta-analyze the key outcomes and antecedents of both strategies in an integrated framework. The direct-effect results indicate that the choice of effectively applying both strategies necessitates a tradeoff between goals and priorities.

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Notes

  1. The complete bibliography of the 32 studies and the details of the CFA analysis are available from the authors.

  2. The complete bibliography of the collected studies and the studies eventually included in the current meta-study are available from the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia State University, PO Box 3991, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA

    Wesley James Johnston

  2. University of Economics HCMC, 59C Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 3, Ho-Chi-Minh City, Vietnam

    Angelina Nhat Hanh Le

  3. National Central University, No. 300, Chung-Da Road, Chung-Li District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Julian Ming-Sung Cheng

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  1. Wesley James Johnston
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  2. Angelina Nhat Hanh Le
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Correspondence to Julian Ming-Sung Cheng.

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Dhruv Grewal served as Area Editor for this article.

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Johnston, W.J., Le, A.N.H. & Cheng, J.MS. A meta-analytic review of influence strategies in marketing channel relationships. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 46, 674–702 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0564-3

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