Consumer Heterogeneity, Product Quality, and Distribution Channels
研究了不同分销渠道结构对产品质量的影响如何取决于消费者异质性的类型及其分布，发现去中心化渠道在某些条件下可能提供更高质量的产品。
This paper shows that the effect of different distribution channel structures on product quality depends on the type of consumer heterogeneity and its distribution in a market. When consumer heterogeneity is uniformly distributed either vertically on willingness to pay or horizontally on transaction costs, a manufacturer may provide the same or lower product quality in a decentralized channel than in a centralized channel. In contrast, when consumer heterogeneity follows a more general distribution on willingness to pay, under certain conditions, the manufacturer may provide higher product quality in a decentralized channel than in a centralized channel. Decentralization also may lead to a higher product quality if consumer heterogeneity is uniformly distributed both vertically and horizontally, but not if consumer heterogeneity is uniformly distributed vertically on each of two product-quality attributes. Additionally, competition at the retail level may amplify these findings. This paper was accepted by J. Miguel Villas-Boas, marketing.