2026-06-01T15:40:55Zhttps://riuma.uma.es/rest/oai/requestoai:riuma.uma.es:10630/312842026-02-03T11:06:12Zcom_10630_2254col_10630_37953
RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
author
Gimeno-Arias, Fernando
author
Santos Jaén, José Manuel
author
León-Gómez, Ana María
2024-05-14T10:05:23Z
2024-05-14T10:05:23Z
2023-02-21
Gimeno-Arias, F., Santos-Jaén, J. M., & León-Gomez, A. (2023). The Reference Group as Antecedent of Gray Market Participation: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 30(1), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051712X.2023.2180697
https://hdl.handle.net/10630/31284
10.1080/1051712X.2023.2180697
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 Fast-Moving 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.
eng
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Internacional
Canales de distribución (Comercio)
Marketing
The Reference Group as Antecedent of Gray Market Participation: An Empirical Analysis.
journal article
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URL
https://riuma.uma.es/bitstreams/6488d6bb-e0b1-464b-b2c6-3d3bef2d1dbc/download
File
MD5
1eb71bd33c5eb18e2117373fdaf06731
743329
application/pdf
The Reference Group as Antecedent of Gray Market Participation An Empirical Analysis (1).pdf