Publication: The reference group as antecedent of gray market participation: an empirical analysis
Authors
León Gómez, Ana ; Gimeno Arias, Fernando ; Santos Jaén, José Manuel
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Publisher
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/1051712X.2023.2180697
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
©2023. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This document is the Accepted, version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of business to business marketing. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1080/1051712X.2023.2180697
Abstract
Purpose: The objective of this research is to analyze the motivation of a distributor belonging to an
official marketing channel to participate in the gray market. We explore this motivation not as an
opportunistic behavior but as a strategic decision aligned with the reference group to which it
belongs and the homogenization or isomorphism of strategic decisions within the group.
Methodology/Approach: Based on a survey of a sample of Spanish official distributors of FastMoving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and an empirical study using PLS-SEM, found evidence that the
imitation effect conditions strategic decisions and can be graduated according to the hierarchical
position occupied or legitimacy within the reference group.
Findings: The hypothesized model was supported by the data. This indicates that the reference
group influences the agents that make it up and determines the actions expected of its members,
offering a tool to the manufacturer or brand owner to manage the official distribution channel.
Originality/Value: The investigation of the effect of the reference group on the behavior of the
official distributor offers an alternative to the classical explanation of its participation in the gray
market, which has not been addressed by the academic literature so far, and which has traditionally
been explained by the individual opportunism of the agents.
Practical implications: The main managerial implication is to provide a monitoring element to the
official distribution channel leader, such as influencing the behaviors of the reference group to
efficiently manage the marketing channel.
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Citation
Journal of business-to-business marketing
2023, VOL. 30, NO. 1, 45–61
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