Advances in information technology and changing customer needs for channel service outputs have dramatically affected the routes to markets in many industries. The authors propose that these changes have led to significant alterations in how customers interact with firms and consequently to a phenomenon that we dub ‘‘channel multiplicity.’’ Channel multiplicity is characterized by the customer’s reliance on multiple sources of information from independent (and often disparate) channel organizations and increasing demand for a seamless experience throughout the buying process. The authors identify the new market operating realities driving channel multiplicity and provide an overview of the consequences for channel design and channel management: a broadened view of products and services, channel leadership challenges, alterations in channel structure, and an expanded view of distribution intensity. The authors also identify issues triggered by these developments, which calls for further research in this field.
Anderson, Erin and Anne T. Coughlan ( 2002), ‘‘Channnel Management. Governance, Structure and Relationship Management,’’ in Handbook of Marketing , Barton Weitz, and Robin Wensley , eds. London: Sage, 223-247.
2.
---, George S. Day, and V. Kasturi Rangan (1997), ‘‘Strategic Channel Design,’’Sloan Management Review, 38 (4), 59-69.
3.
Ansari, Asim, Carl Mela, and Scott Neslin ( 2008), ‘‘Customer Channel Migration, ’’ Journal of Marketing Research, 45 (1), 60-76.
4.
Bakos, Yannis and Erik Brynjolfsson ( 2000), ‘‘Bundling and Competition on the Internet,’’Marketing Science, 19 (1), 63.
5.
Bonoma, Thomas V. and Thomas J. Kosnik ( 1990), Marketing Management, Text and Cases. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin.
6.
Bucklin, Louis P. ( 1966), A Theory of Distribution Channel Structure. Berkeley, California: University of California, Institute of Business.
7.
Corey, E. Raymond, Frank V. Cespedes, and V. Kasturi Rangan (1989), Going to Market: Distribution Systems for Industrial Products. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
8.
Coughlan, Anne T., Erin Anderson, Louis W. Stern, and Adel I. El-Ansary (2006), Marketing Channels. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
9.
Dutta, Shantanu, Jan B. Heide, and Mark Bergen ( 1999), ‘‘Vertical Territorial Restrictions and Public Policy: Theories and Industry Evidence,’’Journal of Marketing, 63 (4), 121-134.
10.
Frazier, Gary L. and Walfried M. Lassar ( 1996), ‘‘Determinants of Distribution Intensity,’’Journal of Marketing, 60 (4), 39-51.
11.
--- and Tasadduq A. Shervani ( 1992), ‘‘Multiple Channels of Distribution and their Impact on Retailing,’’ in The Future of U.S. retailing: An Agenda for the 21st Century, Robert A. Peterson, ed. Westport, CA: Quorum Books, 217-237.
12.
Ganesan, Shankar, Morris George, Sandy Jap, Robert W. Palmatier, and Barton Weitz ( 2009), ‘‘Supply Chain Management and Retailer Performance: Emerging Trends, Issues, and Implications for Research and Practice,’’Journal of Retailing, 85 (1), 84-94.
13.
Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Ed Malthouse, Christian Friege, Sonja Gensler, Lara Lobschat, Arvind Rangaswamy, and Bernd Skiera ( 2010), ‘‘The Impact of New Media on Customer Relationships,’’Journal of Service Research , 13 (3), 311-330.
14.
Jindal, Rupinder P., Werner Reinartz, Manfred Krafft, and Wayne D. Hoyer ( 2007), ‘‘Determinants of the Variety of Routes to Market,’’International Journal of Research in Marketing, 24 (1), 17-29.
15.
Konus, Umut, Peter C. Verhoef, and Scott A. Neslin ( 2008), ‘‘Multichannel Shopper Segments and Their Covariates,’’Journal of Retailing, 84 (4), 398-413.
16.
Kotler, Philip and Kevin L. Keller ( 2006), Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
17.
Neslin, Scott A., D. Grewal, R. Leghorn, V. Shankar, M.L. Teerling, J.S. Thomas, and P.C. Verhoef ( 2006), ‘‘Challenges and Opportunities in Multichannel Customer Management,’’Journal of Service Research , 9 (2), 95-113.
18.
--- and Venkatesh Shankar ( 2009), ‘‘Key Issues in Multichannel Customer Management: Current Knowledge and Future Directions,’’Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23 (1), 70-81.
19.
Nunes, Paul F. and Frank V. Cespedes ( 2003), ‘‘The Customer Has Escaped,’’Harvard Business Review, 81 (11), 96-105.
20.
Raju, Jagmohan and Z. John Zhang ( 2005), ‘‘Channel Coordination in the Presence of a Dominant Retailer,’’Marketing Science, 24 (2), 254-262.
21.
Rangaswamy, A. and G. van Bruggen ( 2005), ‘‘Opportunities and Challenges in Multichannel Marketing: An Introduction to the Special Issue, ’’ Journal of Interactive Marketing, 19 (2), 5-11.
22.
Reinartz, Werner and Wolfgang Ulaga ( 2008), ‘‘How to Sell Services Profitably , ’’ Harvard Business Review, 86 (5), 90-98.
23.
Rosenbloom, Bert ( 2003), Marketing Channels: A Management View, 7th ed. South-Western College Publications .
24.
Thomas, Jacquelyn S. and Ursula Y. Sullivan ( 2005), ‘‘Managing Marketing Communications with Multichannel Customers,’’Journal of Marketing , 69 (4), 239-251.
25.
Venkatesan, R., V. Kumar, and N. Ravishanker ( 2007), ‘‘Multichannel Shopping: Causes and Consequences ,’’ Journal of Marketing, 71 (2), 114-132.
26.
Verhoef, Peter C., Scott A. Neslin, and Bjorn Vroomen ( 2007), ‘‘Multichannel Customer Management: Understanding the Research-Shopper Phenomenon,’’International Journal of Research in Marketing, 24 (2), 129-148.
27.
Vinhas, Albberto Sa and Erin Anderson ( 2005), ‘‘How Potential Conflict Drives Channel Structure: Concurrent (Direct and Indirect) Channels,’’Journal of Marketing Research, 42 (4), 507-515.
28.
Wallace, David W., Joan L. Giese, and Jean L. Johnson ( 2004), ‘‘Customer RetailerLoyalty in the Context of Multiple Channel Strategies,’’Journal of Retailing , 80 (4), 249-263.
