ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS. Distribution channel, relationship, influence strategies, performance, China
INTRODUCTION
The fastest growing economy in the world over the past fifteen years, China has recently been ranked by the World Bank as the seventh largest economy calculated based on the three-years adjusted exchange rate method. It will have 230 million middle-income consumers and a retail market potentially worth more than $900 billion by 2005 (Chan, Perez, Perkins, & Shu, 1997). As more and more foreign companies woo consumer market shares in China, distribution is increasingly becoming a major stumbling block (Byrne, Woodard & Chow, 1994) as well as a key success factor for their operations. Coca-Cola has hitherto outperformed its arch-rival PepsiCo in China largely due to its effective distribution strategy. Despite a late start in China, Goodyear Tire and Rubber has become a key foreign player in the country's tire market. Its success has, to a large extent, been ascribed to its commitment to developing effective distribution channels.
