Conflicts of supply chains in multi-channel marketing: a case from northern Finland

ABSTRACT

Multi-channel marketing is a popular research theme of marketing management. Studying multi-channel marketing is a popular research theme of marketing management. The studies emphasise the necessity and advantages of multi-channel marketing. Despite these advantages, multi-channel marketing is also a source of conflicts in supply chains because the coordination of supply chain ecosystem is challenging. This study is based on a questionnaire and interviews of entrepreneurs. The large significance of dealer, large turnover and the intention to bypass middlemen in the supply chain are sources of conflicts. Variables, which seem to have decreasing effects on conflicts are ‘large number of employees’, ‘intentions to sell different products via different channels’ and slightly in the case ‘to achieve competitive advantage via online shop’. Successful exploitation of e-commerce and multi-channel marketing needs intensive adaptation of entrepreneurs in each step. Each marketing channels need their own planning and sub-strategies. The strategic decisions of e-commerce are part of the whole strategy of the entrepreneurs and the firm.

KEYWORDS:

• Multi-channel conflicts
• multi-channel marketing
• marketing ecosystem
• supply chain management

Acknowledgements

Author wants to thank two reviewers for their constructive comments and MSc. Joni Pekkala for his contribution in collecting the needed empirical material during his working period in the Lapland Sales Academy project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Rauno Rusko, PhD, is a lecturer of management at the University of Lapland. His research interests are in the cooperative, competitive and co-opetitive features of business and management, especially in the branches of ICT, forest industry and tourism. His works have been published, for example in the Forest Policy and Economics, the International Journal of Business Environment, International Journal of Technoentrepreneurship, the International Journal of Tourism Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Managing Leisure, European Management Journal, International Journal of Innovation in the Digital Economy and Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal.

Notes

1. Generally, it was difficult to find explaining variables for regression equation of multi-channel conflicts. In most of the cases, the regression coefficients and t-values were even nearly zero, in other words B < |0.01| and t < |0.1|.

2. These examples are similar to each other, except the positions of ‘dealer’ as the principal and agent in the supply chain are reversed.

Additional information

Funding

Author is grateful to the Lapland Sales Academy and of Asiakaspalvelu 2020 (Consumer service 2020) projects for of their financial support.