ارتباط با تأمین کنندگان خرده فروش، خریدار : تفاوت ژاپنی

The purpose of this study, which draws data from a national survey of Japanese retail buyers, is to provide insight into how culture influences channel relationships and to suggest how non-Japanese partners can facilitate long-term relationships. Results indicate that Japanese retailer long-term orientation with a supplier is an antecedent to trust, economic dependence and satisfaction with the supplier rather than an outcome of these constructs. This study implies that Japanese retailers are expected to look out for the best interests of their partners, rather than continuously seek new partners, and, further, partners learn to negotiate differences rather than seek dissolution of the relationship.

Channel researchers have recently realized that existing channel-relations frameworks—in which dependence, power, conflict, and satisfaction are central concepts—are not enough to predict successful retailer–supplier relationships. Researchers have tracked changes in the nature of interrelationships among channel members, which are characterized as working partnerships ( Anderson and Narus 1990) or strategic alliances ( Day 1990). These relationships emphasize channel member adoption of long-term orientation and cultivation of trust, factors that can reduce transaction costs and be an important source of competitive advantage ( Anderson and Narus, 1990, Doney and Cannon, 1997, Dyer and Chu, 2003, Ganesan, 1994 and Geyskens et al., 1998). Studies on long-term orientation and trust in retailer–supplier channel relationships, however, have been conducted primarily in Western settings, and little information is available for regions with different cultural characteristics ( Geyskens et al. 1998). Studying long-term orientation and trust in a country like Japan can provide useful insight into the next generation of channel relationships in countries where long-term orientation has developed in the last few years. This study examines a model of Japanese retailer channel relationships with their suppliers based on the traditional assumption that the Japanese are oriented to long-term relationships as a means of promoting harmony and loyalty. This model proposes that Japanese retailer long-term orientation toward suppliers is an antecedent of Japanese retailer trust and economic dependence on the supplier rather than an outcome of these constructs, as in the case of the Western channel relationships.

This study examined a model of Japanese retailer channel relationships with their suppliers based on the traditional assumption that the Japanese are oriented to long-term relationships. This model proposed that Japanese retailer long-term orientation with their supplier is an antecedent of Japanese retailer trust, economic dependence and satisfaction with the supplier rather than an outcome of these constructs, as in the case of Western channel relationships (Ganesan 1994). Study results found that Japanese retailer long-term orientation with suppliers was an antecedent of trust and economic dependence. Japanese retailer trust of their suppliers was positively related to functionality of conflict, but economic dependence on suppliers was not related to functionality of conflict. Functionality of conflict was positively related to retailer satisfaction with suppliers. Results from this study have implications for theory development and for managers. This model—where long-term orientation is not based on actions taken by the channel partners, but instead is the result of a separately held belief in the importance of committed partnerships—can help us understand the next generation of strategic partnerships being formed in Western cultures. Much like life-long marriages, channel partners might enter into a commitment to maintain the relationship regardless of the “role performance” of their partners. The quid pro quo relationship between performance and commitment can weaken partnerships that are meant to endure for a lifetime. The findings of the study also provide strategic implications for international marketing practitioners targeting Japanese markets. First, Western marketers should have a long-term orientation with Japanese partners from the beginning of the business. This may sound unreasonable to Western marketers whose long-term orientation is built based on interactions with their partners. However, for the Japanese, long-term orientation fosters trust and leads to economic dependence. Therefore, western marketers’ long-term oriented attitudes may help Japanese partners to have more trust in Western marketers and to depend more on them economically. A word of caution needs to be extended about using Western concepts and measures in a country such as Japan. Although we conducted hundreds of hours of interviews before selecting the measurement instruments, it is likely that our scales do not capture the truly complex dimensions of concepts such as trust and long-term orientation. It is however a start in capturing the essence of a relationship that is somewhat like an arranged marriage. In the case of an arranged marriage, love is not antecedent to the long-term commitment. In our study, trust is not antecedent to long-term orientation, but trust, like love may follow.