The role of the distributor in systems markets: Managing hybrid systems.

摘要

Systems, products that require two or more components to be functional, make up an important sector of the economy. A critical decision facing mangers in systems markets is the issue of “compatibility”. In this dissertation I introduce a new player to the literature on compatibility in these systems markets—the distributor. I suggest that the distributor can play a critical role in the implementation of compatibility in systems markets. They decide which, if any, systems to display and emphasize with their customers. In particular, they may sell “hybrid systems”, i.e. systems that combine rival manufacturers' components. Often distributors will promote these hybrid systems, displaying them in the store and giving information and support for these combinations.; I develop a framework to explain the distributor incentives to sell and support such systems. I show with the help of an analytical model that systems attributes are important factors that impact the distributor incentives. I also show how these incentives might affect the incentives of other channel members (e.g. the suppliers or manufacturers). Then I test this framework using data collected from a national mail survey.; I first present results from the survey to document the scale and scope of hybrid systems sales in the automotive refinish paints industry, and then test the theoretical propositions. The results show that hybrid systems sales are widely practiced in the industry and are a significant proportion of the distributors' systems assortment. I also find evidence that distributor incentives to sell hybrid systems are multi-faceted, involving customer, product, supplier, and distributor specific factors.; I go on to discuss the implications of these findings for both managers who have to grapple with hybrid system sales, and the literature in marketing, economics and public policy. I also discuss ideas for future research in the area.