Vertical Restraints and the Distribution Chain: An Economic Analysis with Special Reference to Personal Computer Marketing

摘要

The study examines issues related to the distribution of microcomputers and associated products. The principal policy questions addressed concern the effects on distribution of various legal restrictions governing relations between distributors and their suppliers. The economic analysis of vertical restraints predicts that considerable pressure for the imposition of such restraints will arise in the microcomputer distribution system. However, the ability of manufacturers to impose restraints which both they and their dealers might desire is severely constrained by legal requirements, both formal and informal. Chief among these is the court-mandated prohibition on resale price maintenance (RPM). The use of practices such as exclusive dealing and dual distribution arrangements is also limited. The existence of such legal barriers to the use of some vertical restraints does not rule out all manufacturer control of distribution, but rather leads the manufacturers to seek alternative methods of structuring their distribution arrangements.