The Use of Pledges to Build and Sustain Commitment in Distribution Channels
研究渠道关系中承诺如何受双方感知的对方承诺、专用投资和合同条款等承诺行为影响，基于378对制造商与工业分销商的数据分析，发现专用投资对双方承诺有强影响。
Commitment in channel relationships is modeled as a function of (1) each party's perception of the other party's commitment, (2) self-reported and perceived pledges (idiosyncratic investments and contractual terms) made by each party, and (3) other factors such as communication level, reputation, and relationship history. A dyadic model represented by a simultaneous equation system is estimated with data from 378 pairs of manufacturers and industrial distributors. The results indicate that one type of pledge, idiosyncratic investments, has a strong effect on the commitment of both parties to the relationship. In addition, each party's commitment is affected by the perceived commitment of the other party. Finally, idiosyncratic investments signal commitment, affecting each party's perceptions of the other party's commitment.