This Master Thesis evaluates the current use of influence strategies within the channel re- lationship of Ford and their dealer network in the BeLux market. In order to accomplish this, the researcher has established two research questions to be answered within this paper. The first research question relates to how the NSC of Ford believes the different influence strategies should be used. The second question aims to gauge how the dealerships expe- rience these influence strategies and how they would respond to them.
The requirement of a revaluation of the effectiveness of the influence strategies originates from the fact that the automotive industry is, and will be, experiencing many developments. These developments, in turn, may change the dynamic and power balance within the chan- nel relationship. Furthermore, as influence strategies draw their strength from different sources of power subject to change, an updated observation may prove useful.
The findings from a literature review and the findings from semi-structured interviews with managers within the NSC organisation and the dealerships provides answers to the re- search questions established by the researcher. Subsequently combining the answers from both research questions, the researcher was able to identify an effective mix of influence strategies. This also considers the impact which the use of the different influence strategies may have on the strength of the channel relationship.
The researcher was able to establish that both parties share similar views concerning the effectiveness of the different strategies. Nevertheless, the deployment is experienced dif- ferently, as the interviewees from the NSC believe that Ford is focusing mostly on using information exchange, recommendations and promises. This is the preferred mix of influ- ence strategies by the dealership interviewees. The dealership interviewees believe Ford is deploying the threats strategy too much, and in turn, souring the relationship.
The researcher therefore concludes that Ford should ensure that it utilises a mix of infor- mation exchange, recommendations and promises, while only using the other influence strategies in select circumstances where their use is warranted. This way, Ford will be able to mend and strengthen the relationship with the dealerships, as both channel partners will need a strong channel relationship if they wish to survive the developments which continue to impact the automotive industry.

AFFIDAVIT II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III
TABLE OF CONTENTS IV
TABLE OF FIGURES VIII
LIST OF TABLES IX
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS / GLOSSARY X
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY XI
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Problem Definition 1
1.2 Goal of Thesis 2
1.3 Methodology 3
1.4 Research Setting 4
1.5 Structure of the Thesis 4
2 MARKETING CHANNELS 6
2.1 Channel actors 7
2.1.1 Manufacturers 7
2.1.2 Intermediaries 7
2.1.3 End-Users 8
2.2 Key Channel Functions 8
2.3 General Benefits gained through Marketing Channels 11
2.3.1 Benefits for Upstream Members 11
2.3.2 Benefits for Downstream Members 12
2.4 Developments changing the Automotive Industry 12
2.4.1 Increased Product Connectivity 13
2.4.2 Electrification 13
2.4.3 Changing Customer Behaviour 14
2.5 Summary 15
3 CHANNEL POWER 16
3.1 Sources of Channel Power 16
3.1.1 Reward Power 16
3.1.2 Coercive Power 17
3.1.3 Legitimate Power 17
3.1.4 Referent Power 18
3.1.5 Expert Power 19
3.2 Dependence in Marketing Channels 19
3.2.1 Measurement Strategies of Dependence 20
3.2.2 Interdependence 21
3.2.3 Dependence Asymmetry 21
3.3 Influence Strategies 24
3.3.1 Requests 26
3.3.2 Information Exchange 26
3.3.3 Recommendations 27
3.3.4 Promises 28
3.3.5 Threats 28
3.3.6 Legalistic Pleas 28
3.3.7 Alternative Influence Strategies 29
3.4 Additional Insights on the Use of Influence Strategies and Power 31
3.5 Summary 33
4 CHANNEL RELATIONSHIPS 34
4.1 Benefits of Strong Channel Relationships 34
4.1.1 For Upstream Members 34
4.1.2 For Downstream Members 35
4.2 Commitment in Channel Relationships 36
4.2.1 Factors Influencing the Perception of Continuity 36
4.2.2 Strategies to increase the Perception of Commitment 37
4.3 Trust in Channel Relationships 38
4.3.1 Impact of Economic Satisfaction on Trust 38
4.3.2 Impact of Non-Economic Factors on Trust 38
4.4 Lifecycles of Channel Relationships 40
4.4.1 Evolution of the Stages 42
4.5 Strategies to expand and manage the Channel Relationship 43
4.5.1 Relationship Developing Powers 44
4.5.2 Relationship Deteriorating Power 47
4.5.3 Application of the Channel Relationship Management Model 49
4.6 Summary 50
5 METHODOLOGY 52
5.1 Semi-Structured Interviews 52
5.1.1 Further Reasons for Using Semi-Structured Interviews 53
5.2 Managing Potential Data Quality Issues 53
5.2.1 Preparation of the Interviews 54
5.3 Conducting the Interviews 54
5.3.1 Types of Questions 55
5.3.2 Interview Guides Clarifications 55
5.3.3 Recording of the Data 58
5.4 Interviewee Samples 59
5.4.1 Ford NSC Interviewees 60
5.4.2 Dealership Interviewees 60
5.5 Analysis of the Data 61
5.5.1 Thematic Analysis 61
5.5.2 General Procedure of Thematic Analysis 61
6 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 63
6.1 Analysis of Manufacturer Interviews 63
6.1.1 Communication Methods 64
6.1.2 Developments changing the Automotive Industry 65
6.1.3 Perspectives on Influence Strategies 67
6.1.4 Perspectives on Relationship Quality 72
6.2 Analysis of Dealership Interviews 72
6.2.1 Communication Methods 72
6.2.2 Developments changing the Automotive Industry 73
6.2.3 Perspectives on Influence Strategies 74
6.2.4 Perspectives on Relationship Quality 78
6.3 Discussion 78
6.3.1 NSC use of Influence Strategies 78
6.3.2 Response of Dealerships to the Influence Strategies 79
6.3.3 Optimal Mix of Influence Strategies 80
7 ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS 82
7.1 Communication Methods 82
7.2 Developments changing the Automotive Industry 83
7.3 Perspectives on Relationship quality 85
8 CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK 86
8.1 Managerial Implications 87
8.2 Limitations and Future Outlook 87
LIST OF REFERENCES 89
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW GUIDE MANUFACTURER 95
APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW GUIDE MANUFACTURER 98
CURRICULUM VITAE 101

Anderson, Erin and Barton Weitz (1989), “Determinants of Continuity in Conventional Industrial Channel Dyads,” Marketing Science, 8 (4), 310–23.
——— and ——— (1992), “The Use of Pledges to build and Sustain Commitment in Distribution Channels.,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 29 (1), 18–34.
Anderson, James C. (1995), “Relationships in Business Markets: Exchange Episodes, Value Creation, and their Empirical Assessment,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23 (4), 346–50.
——— and James A. Narus (1984), “A Model of the Distributor’s Perspective of Distributor-
Manufacturer Working Relationships,” Journal of Marketing, 48 (4), 62–74.
——— and ——— (1990), “A Model of Distributor Firm and Manufacturer Firm Working
Partnerships.,” Journal of Marketing, 54 (1), 42–58.
Angelmar, Reinhard, and Louis W. Stern (1978), “Development of a Content Analytic System for Analysis of Bargaining Communication in Marketing,” Journal of Marketing Research, 15 (1), 93–102.
Antia, Kersi D. and Gary L. Frazier (2001), “The Severity of Contract Enforcement in Inter-
firm Channel Relationships,” Journal of Marketing, 65 (4), 67–81.
Cowan, Kirsten, Audhesh K. Paswan, and Eric Van Steenburg (2015), “When inter-firm relationship benefits mitigate power asymmetry,” Industrial Marketing Management, 48, 140–48.
Dahl, Robert A. (1957), “The concept of power,” Behavioral Science, 2 (3), 201–15.
Dahlstrom, Robert and Arne Nygaard (1999), “An Empirical Investigation of Ex Post Transaction Costs in Franchised Distribution Channels.,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 36 (2), 160–70.
Dombrowski, Uwe, Christian Engel, and Sven Schulze (2011), “Changes and challenges in the after sales service due to the electric mobility,” in Proceedings of 2011 IEEE International Conference on Service Operations, Logistics and Informatics, Beijing, China: IEEE, 77–82.
Dwyer, F. Robert, Paul H. Schurr, and Sejo Oh (1987), “Developing Buyer-Seller Relation-ships.,” Journal of Marketing, 51 (2), 11–27.
Emerson, Richard M. (1962), “Power-Dependence Relations,” American Sociological Review, 27 (1), 31–41.
Falbe, Cecilia M and Gary Yukl (1992), “Consequences for managers of using single influence tactics and combinations of tactics.,” Academy of Management Journal, 35 (3), 638–52.
Fang, Eric (Er), Robert W. Palmatier, Lisa K. Scheer, and Ning Li (2008), “Trust at Different
Organizational Levels,” Journal of Marketing, 72 (2), 80–98.
Fein, Adam J. and Sandy D. Jap (1999), “Manage Consolidation in the Distribution Channel.,” Sloan Management Review, 41 (1), 61–72.
Ford Motor Company (2020a), “FordPass Connect Powered by FordPassTM,” Ford, (ac- cessed April 30, 2020), [available at https://owner.ford.com/fordpass/fordpass-sync- connect.html].
——— (2020b), “Ford’s Q4, Full-Year Results in Europe, China Sharply Improve; Strategic Actions in 2019 Position Company for Long-Term Success,” Press Release, Dearborn Michigan, 20.
Ford Motor Company Belgium (2020), “Ford opvallend marktleider bij de bedrijfsvoertuigenin januari en februari,” Press Release, Sint-Agatha-Berchem.
Frazier, Gary L. (1983), “On the Measurement of Interfirm Power in Channels of Distribution,” Journal of Marketing Research, 20 (2), 158–66.
——— (1999), “Organizing and Managing Channels of Distribution,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27 (2), 226–40.
———, Elliot Maltz, Kersi D. Antia, and Aric Rindfleisch (2009), “Distributor Sharing of Strategic Information with Suppliers.,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (4), 31–43.
——— and Raymond C. Rody (1991), “The use of influence strategies in interfirm relationships in industrial product channels.,” Journal of Marketing, 55 (1), 52–69.
——— and John O. Summers (1984), “Interfirm Influence Strategies and Their Applications
within Distribution Channels.,” Journal of Marketing, 48 (3), 43–55.
——— and ——— (1986), “Perceptions of Interfirm Power and Its Use Within a Franchise
Channel of Distribution.,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 23 (2), 169–76.
French, John R P and Bertram Raven (1968), “The Bases of Social Power,” in Group dynamics: Research and theory, D. Cartwright and A. F. Zander, eds., New York: Harper & Row, 259–69.
Gaski, John F. and John R. Nevin (1985), “The Differential Effects of Exercised and Unexercised Power Sources in a Marketing Channel.,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 22 (2), 130–42.
Gelderman, Cees J., Janjaap Semeijn, and Ronald De Zoete (2008), “The use of coercive influence strategies by dominant suppliers,” Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 14 (4), 220–29.
Geyskens, Inge, Jan-Benedict E.M Steenkamp, and Nirmalya Kumar (1998), “Generalizations about trust in marketing channel relationships using meta-analysis,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 15 (3), 223–48.
Gulati, Ranjay (1998), “Alliances and networks,” Strategic Management Journal, 19 (4),293–317.
Hallén, Lars, Jan Johanson, and Nazeem Seyed-Mohamed (1991), “Interfirm Adaptation in Business Relationships,” Journal of Marketing, 55 (2), 29–37.
Heide, Jan B. (1994), “Interorganizational Governance in Marketing Channels,” Journal of marketing, 58 (1), 71–85.
——— and George John (1988), “The Role of Dependence Balancing in Safeguarding
Transaction-Specific Assets in Conventional Channels.,” Journal of Marketing, 52(1), 20–35.
——— and Anne S. Miner (1992), “The Shadow Of The Future: Effects Of Anticipated Interaction And Frequency Of Contact On Buyer-Seller Cooperation,” Academy of Management Journal, 35 (2), 265–91.
Jap, Sandy D. and Erin Anderson (2003), “Safeguarding Interorganizational Performance and Continuity Under Ex Post Opportunism.,” Management Science, 49 (12), 1684– 1701.
Kale, Sudhir H. (1986), “Dealer Perceptions of Manufacturer Power and Influence Strategies in a Developing Country.,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 23 (4), 387– 93.
Kang, Bohyeon, Sejo Oh, and Eugene Sivadas (2013), “Beyond Relationship Quality: Examining Relationship Management Effectiveness,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 21 (3), 273–88.
Kipnis, David, Stuart M. Schmidt, and Ian Wilkinson (1980), “Intra organizational influence tactics: Explorations in getting one’s way.,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 65 (4), 440–52.
Kumar, Nirmalya, Lisa K. Scheer, and Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp (1995a), “The Effects of Supplier Fairness on Vulnerable Resellers.,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 32 (1), 54–65.
———, ———, and ——— (1995b), “The Effects of Perceived Interdependence on Dealer
Attitudes.,” Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 32 (3), 348–56.
Leonidou, Leonidas C. (2005), “Industrial buyers’ influence strategies: buying situation differences,” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 20 (1), 33–42
Low, Wen-Shinn and Han-Tzong Lee (2016), “The Exercise and Acceptance of Power in an Industrial Channel Dyad,” Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 23 (2), 135–51.
Lusch, Robert F. and James R. Brown (1996), “Interdependency, Contracting, and Relational Behavior in Marketing Channels,” Journal of Marketing, 60 (4), 19–38.
Martínez de Aragón, Blanca, Jesus Alonso-Zarate, and Andres Laya (2018), “How connec- tivity is transforming the automotive ecosystem,” Internet Technology Letters, 1 (1), e14.
Mayo, Donna T., Lynne D. Richardson, and James T. Simpson (1998), “The Differential Effects of the Uses of Power Sources and Influence Strategies on Channel Satisfaction,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 6 (2), 16–25.
McFarland, Richard G., Goutam N. Challagalla, and Tasadduq A. Shervani Shervani
(2006), “Influence Tactics for Effective Adaptive Selling,” Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 103–17.
Munson, Charles L., Meir J. Rosenblatt, and Zehava Rosenblatt (1999), “The use and abuse of power in supply chains,” Business Horizons, 42 (1), 55–65.
Palmatier, Robert W., Rajiv P. Dant, Dhruv Grewal, and Kenneth R. Evans (2006), “Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Relationship Marketing: A Meta-Analysis.,” Journal of Marketing, 70 (4), 136–53.
———, Mark B. Houston, Rajiv P. Dant, and Dhruv Grewal (2013), “Relationship Velocity:
Toward a Theory of Relationship Dynamics,” Journal of Marketing, 77 (1), 13–30.
———, Eugene Sivadas, Louis W. Stern, and Adel I. Ansary (2020), Marketing channel strategy: an omni-channel approach, New York ; London: Routledge Taylor & Fran- cis Group.
Payan, Janice M. and Richard G. McFarland (2005), “Decomposing Influence Strategies: Argument Structure and Dependence as Determinants of the Effectiveness of Influence Strategies in Gaining Channel Member Compliance,” Journal of Marketing, 69(3), 66–79.
Plouffe, Christopher R., Willy Bolander, Joseph A. Cote, and Bryan Hochstein (2016), “Does the Customer Matter Most? Exploring Strategic Frontline Employees’ Influence of Customers, the Internal Business Team, and External Business Partners,” Journal of Marketing, 80 (1), 106–23.
Provan, Keith G. and Steven J. Skinner (1989), “Interorganizational Dependence and Control as Predictors of Opportunism in Dealer-Supplier Relations,” Academy of Management Journal, 32 (1), 202–12.
Purohit, Devavrat and Joydeep Srivastava (2001), “Effect of Manufacturer Reputation, Retailer Reputation, and Product Warranty on Consumer Judgments of Product Quality: A Cue Diagnosticity Framework,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 10 (3), 123– 34.
Rehme, Jakob, Daniel Nordigården, Daniel Ellström, and Daniel Chicksand (2016), “Power in distribution channels — Supplier assortment strategy for balancing power,” Industrial Marketing Management, 54, 176–87.
Ross Jr., William T., Erin Anderson, and Barton Weitz (1997), “Performance in principal-agent dyads: The causes and consequences of perceived asymmetry of...,” Management Science, 43 (5), 680–704.
Samaha, Stephen A., Robert W. Palmatier, and Rajiv P. Dant (2011), “Poisoning Relationships: Perceived Unfairness in Channels of Distribution,” Journal of Marketing, 75(3), 99–117.
Saunders, M. N. K., Philip Lewis, and Adrian Thornhill (2015), Research methods for business students, New York: Pearson Education.
Scanzoni, John (1979), “Social Exchange and Behavioral Interdependence,” in Social Exchange in Developing Relationships, R. L. Burgess and R. L. B. Huston, eds., Else- vier, 61–98.
Scheer, Lisa K., C. Fred Miao, and Robert W. Palmatier (2015), “Dependence and interdependence in marketing relationships: meta-analytic insights,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43 (6), 694–712.
Smith, Wayne S., Shirley Coleman, Jaume Bacardit, and Syd Coxon (2019), “Insight from data analytics with an automotive aftermarket SME,” Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 35 (5), 1396–1407.
Stolfa, Jakub, Svatopluk Stolfa, Christian Baio, Utimia Madaleno, Petr Dolejsi, Federico Brugnoli, and Richard Messnarz (2019), “DRIVES—EU blueprint project for the automotive sector—A literature review of drivers of change in automotive industry,” Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, 32 (3).
Subramani, Mani R. and N. Venkatraman (2003), “Safeguarding Investments in asymmetric Interorganizational relationships Theory and Evidence.,” Academy of Management Journal, 46 (1), 46–62.
Tikoo, Surinder (2005), “Franchisor use of influence and conflict in a business format franchise system,” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 33 (5), 329–42.
Venkatesh, R., Ajay K. Kohli, and Gerald Zaltman (1995), “Influence Strategies in Buying Centers,” Journal of Marketing, 59 (4), 71–82.
Wang, Cheng Lu, Yizheng Shi, and Bradley R. Barnes (2015), “The role of satisfaction, trust and contractual obligation on long-term orientation,” Journal of Business Research,68 (3), 473–79.
Wujin Chu and Woosik Chu (1994), “Signaling Quality by Selling through a Reputable Retailer: an Example of Renting the Reputation of another Agent,” Marketing Science,13 (2), 177–89.
Yang, Donghoon, Eugene Sivadas, Bohyeon Kang, and Sejo Oh (2012), “Dissolution intention in channel relationships: An examination of contributing factors,” Industrial Marketing Management, 41 (7), 1106–13.
Yukl, Gary and Cecilia M. Falbe (1990), “Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts.,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 75 (2), 132– 40.