دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی مدل فیزیکی در مقابل مدل مجازی کسب و کار: استراتژی کانال بازاریابی تولید کنندگان - الزویر 2018

Abstract

We develop a two-period dual-channel model for a durable goods manufacturer to investigate how product durability and the channel structure create strategic issues that are significantly different from those in managing a dual channel for nondurables. The manufacturer can sell directly by its own e-channel and indirectly via an independent reseller. Our game-theoretic model nests Arya et al. (2007) [Arya et al., 2007. The bright side of supplier encroachment. Marketing Science 26 (5): 651-659.] as a special case when product durability reduces to zero and thus generalizes it to the durable goods setting. The equilibrium solutions indicate that, when the product is durable, both parties’ profitability strongly depends on product durability and direct selling cost. In particular, we find that, compared to encroaching the reseller’s market by direct selling online, it is optimal for the manufacturer to open an inactive e-channel that serves only as an information medium. Moreover, we find that, contrary to Arya et al.’s (2007) results, if product durability is moderate, for any direct selling cost, manufacturer’s encroachment is always detrimental to the reseller, and thus its bright side disappears. We test our model’s theoretical predictions of the effects of product durability on manufacturer’s and reseller’s profitability with data from the U.S. x86 computer server market, and find strong empirical supportprofitability of both parties is higher when product durability is sufficiently low or sufficiently high, and lower when durability is intermediate.

Conclusions

Even though many durable goods manufacturers have adopted dual-channel supply chains to market their products, there is scant literature addressing product durability and its impact on players’ optimal strategies in a dual-channel supply chain. We thus generalize Arya et al. (2007)’s model to the area of marketing durables in dual-channel supply chains. Specifically, by analyzing a two-period dual-channel supply chain, we investigate how product durability and the channel structure create strategic issues that are significantly different from those involved in the management of a dual-channel for nondurables. To generate managerial insights into the issues of product durability and the channel structure, we characterize the optimal strategies of both parties and derive a number of propositions and conclusions. One important result of our analysis is that the manufacturer may be worse off selling online; that is, under certain conditions, it is optimal for the manufacturer to open an inactive e-channel and not accept orders online. This finding is consistent with the practice reflected in the dual-channel programs of 3M, NEC, and Whirlpool, which accept no orders online but simply use the Internet as a medium for product information provision and reseller links. Another important result of our analysis is that we are able to generalize the results in the literature on dual-channel supply chains, in particular, Arya et al. (2007), who show that the retailer can benefit from encroachment even when it admits no synergies and facilitates neither product differentiation nor price discrimination. In this paper, we show that this argument depends greatly on both product durability and direct selling cost. In fact, our analysis of a twoperiod dual-channel supply chain with different product durability demonstrates that, contrary to Arya et al. (2007)’s results, if product durability is moderate, for any direct selling cost, manufacturer encroachment is always detrimental to the reseller and its bright side disappears.