Bad Apples, Bad Barrels, and the Structure of Marketing Channel Relationships: Analyses of the Propensity for Opportunism and Opportunistic Behaviors

Abstract

The theoretical frameworks of transaction cost economics and agency theory are widely used to develop appropriate control mechanisms for constraining opportunism within marketing channels. In our research, we supplement these normative theories with alternative frameworks which allow us to move from the usual dyadic-level analysis of transaction cost economics and agency theory to include contextual factors as well as individual-level characteristics. Our goal is to offer an alternative, behavioral perspective that can meaningfully inform us as to how and when opportunistic behaviors actually take place.