Marketing Management, 16th Edition

Channel Cooperation and Conflict

No matter how well channels are designed and managed, there will be some conflict, if only because the interests of independent business entities do not always coincide. Channel conflict occurs when one channel member’s actions prevent another channel member from achieving its goal. Companies distributing their offerings through different channels are likely to face a certain level of channel conflict. In this context, a manager’s goal is to reduce the channel conflict by minimizing the frictions between channel members.

A common source of channel conflict is a manufacturer’s desire to sell directly to its customers, bypassing its traditional channel partners. By opening its own retail stores, Apple created a ...