| This dissertation is a study of manufacturer-retailer relationships in the Canadian packaged consumer goods industry. It is based upon nineteen interviews conducted with fifteen respondents during 2001--2003 at some of the largest manufacturing and retail organizations in Canada. Individuals who, currently or previously, occupied boundary-spanning roles in the manufacturing and retail organizations, or who by virtue of their seniority in the organization could offer insights, were interviewed.;Using an interpretive approach, the study reveals the dual posture espoused by the manufacturers and the retailers in their relationship with each other. Symbolic appeals are made to the 'relational' paradigm, to mask overarching financial dispositions. An illusion of 'partnership' is created openly, but in private the relationship is beset with intimidation, arm-twisting, risk shifting, interference and control.;Taking an institutional perspective, the study observes that the norms of the economic institution prevail over the norms of the relational institution. The preponderance of the economic norms, however, does not absolve organizations from upholding, even if only symbolically, the relational norms. Normative pressures compel organizations to be, or at least appear, 'relational'. Thus, the relationship that on surface appears "contradictory" (Ogbonna and Wilkinson 1998), is rendered explicable and in fact argued to be consistent with what institutional arguments would conclude.;The study makes a contribution by providing insights into a scarcely researched channel relationship. Further, by applying an institutional perspective, the study offers a new theoretical lens through which other channel relationships can also be explored. It addresses the "schizophrenia" in the channels context (Frazier and Antia 1995), wherein some relationships appear to be becoming more relational, while other relationships appear to be drifting apart.;The study serves as a context to revisit some of the tenets of relational theory. It suggests why relationship marketing may have been adopted only at a symbolic level, and why actual practice remains short of the relational ideal. Lastly, the study offers empirical support for "active" characterization of organizations in responding to institutional norms (Oliver 1991). It is observed that organizations do not always comply with the institutional norms; rather organizations respond also by taking a symbolic recourse. |
