Anderson, ErinDay, George SRangan, V. K2023-05-222023-05-2219972018-05-18https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/39584When choosing distribution channels, companies need to rely on design principles that are aligned with their overall competitive strategy. Accelerating technological change, heightened marketplace demands, more aggressive global competition, and shifts in the workforce and population demographics are affecting distribution channels, forcing companies to reconsider fundamental assumptions about how they reach their markets. The magnitude of change demands a strategic perspective that views channel decisions as choices from a continually changing array of alternatives for achieving market coverage and competitive advantage — subject, of course, to the constraints of cost, investment, and flexibility. Tactical responses, based on maintaining power balances, managing conflicts, and minimizing transaction costs to pursue greater efficiency, will not suffice.Originally published in MIT Sloan Management Review © 1997 MIT Press (https://sloanreview.mit.edu/).BusinessBusiness Administration, Management, and OperationsBusiness IntelligenceMarketingOperations and Supply Chain ManagementOrganizational Behavior and TheoryArticle