Per Aldrich and Pfeffer (1976), the environments in which firms operate inflict two constraints on them, uncertainty and dependence. The purpose of this research is to study the contingent effects of both these constraints on marketing channel relationships. Drawing on the resource dependence perspective and the political economy paradigm, this research shows that reseller dependence and environmental capacity have the potential to change marketing channel structures and processes and thereby channel effectiveness. Certain partner characteristics were hypothesized to determine effectiveness and reseller dependence and environmental capacity were expected to moderate the relationships.; The framework was tested longitudinally over two years on 420 resellers of a single supplier. Structural equation modeling was used in Lisrel 8.54 to analyze the data. Moderating effects were tested using multi-group analysis.; The proposed conceptual framework was supported with both moderators. The results for environmental capacity were stronger. Partner characteristics interacted with reseller dependence and environmental capacity to change the effectiveness of the channel relationship. For three of the four partner characteristics, the moderating impact of reseller dependence was to improve channel effectiveness when the reseller was more dependent. The effect of environmental capacity was equally divided over the four characteristics. In case of reseller characteristics, a lean environment worsened effectiveness and in case of supplier characteristics, a lean environment improved channel effectiveness.
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