Distribution effectiveness through full- and self-service channels under economic fluctuations in an emerging market

Author(s)

Guissoni, Leandro Angotti ^[1] ; Rodrigues, Jonny Mateus ^[2] ; Zambaldi, Felipe ^[1] ; Neves, Marcos Fava ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Sao Paulo Sch Business Adm FGV EAESP, Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Econ Business Adm & Accounting Ribeirao Preto, Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF RETAILING; v. 97, n. 4, p. 545-560, DEC 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Retail distribution is one of the major challenges in emerging economies. These economies are volatile and filled with inefficiencies, and the representativeness of unstructured retail increases the complexity of distribution systems for consumer packaged-goods companies. We analyze 644 brands to extend the existing literature by modeling the retail distribution and market share in an emerging market according to the type of retail channel (full- and self-service channels), moderated by economic fluctuations and the market position of a brand (high- and low-share brands). Our model controls for endogeneity using instrumental variables (IVs) and accommodates heterogeneity across brands and categories by means of a fixed-effects robust regression. Our study highlights that the relationship between distribution and market share exhibits greater convexity in the self-service channel than in the full-service channel. Further, we contribute to the existing research in distribution effectiveness in emerging markets by showing the convex effect of distribution on market share could vary when the economy changes. Distribution gains are more effective in the self-service channel than in the full-service channel in times of economic decline. Also, the results indicate the higher degree of convexity in the relationship between distribution and market share for the self-service channel compared with the full-service channel is increased further for high-share brands than for low-share brands. (c) 2021 New York University. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/05960-9 - The effectiveness of marketing activities and product innovations in retail self-service channels over the business cycles
• Grantee: Felipe Zambaldi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research