Role of Community Dominance of Trade Channels in India: Exploratory Study

15 Pages Posted: 27 Oct 2012

See all articles by Janat Shah

Janat Shah

Indian Institute of Management Udaipur

J. Ramachandran

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

R. Vaidyanathan

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore

Mithileshwar Jha

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore

D. Samanth

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore

Date Written: April 30, 2001

Abstract

The process of liberalisation of the Indian economy and efforts to integrate it with the global economic set up has led to a lot of changes in the way business is being organised and conducted. One of the sectors of the economy which has seen important, if not actually dramatic change in the past decade has been the trading segment. Lot of companies including multinationals are trying to introduce novel practices in their distribution and retail systems in order to penetrate the Indian market. But so far their efforts in this direction have not been supported by an ability to understand the community dimension with respect to the channel members for whom their community affiliation is not just a question of identity, but also one that provide strong business support. Though channel members themselves are well aware of the existence of community dominance, this issue has mostly been neglected in academic research and has in no small way contributed to lack of understanding of the Indian market situation particularly among managers with a multinational background.

In this study we present results of an exploratory field study carried out over nine industry segments. Apart from probing the issue of the existence of dominant community groups in the trade channels, we also explore the implications of the existence of these groups for the relationships that exist between the trade channels and other components of the value chain with whom they interact.

Keywords: Trade Channel, Community Dominance, Channel Management.

Suggested Citation

Shah, Janat and Ramachandran, J. and Vaidyanathan, Ramamurthy and Jha, Mithileshwar and Samanth, D., Role of Community Dominance of Trade Channels in India: Exploratory Study (April 30, 2001). IIM Bangalore Research Paper No. 170, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2161242 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2161242

Janat Shah (Contact Author)

Indian Institute of Management Udaipur ( email )

Mohanlal Sukhadia University Campus
Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001
India

HOME PAGE: http://www.iimu.ac.in

J. Ramachandran

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore ( email )

Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore, Karnataka 560076
India

Ramamurthy Vaidyanathan

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore ( email )

Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore, 560076
India

Mithileshwar Jha

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore ( email )

Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore, Karnataka 560076
India

D. Samanth

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore

Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore, Karnataka 560076
India

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