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Product Distribution Choices in China: A Transaction Cost Perspective

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Marketing Issues in Transitional Economies

Abstract

The emergence of transitional economies (TEs) poses a great challenge to marketing scholars and practitioners alike. China provides a good illustration of the unique problems encountered in TEs. From 1991 to 1994 it boasted an average annual economic growth rate of 11.7 percent (Luk, Xu and Ye 1998) and an annual income growth rate of about 10 percent (Batra 1997). Reforms have dramatically altered the structure of its distribution system from a centralized, state-owned system where prices were fixed and retailers had to purchase their “quota” only from particular wholesalers, to a partially decentralized state and privately-owned system where parties are free to choose their own vendors and retailers. This rapid growth and enormous potential accompanied by reforms have made China an attractive market for foreign investors. For example, in 1993, foreign direct investments in Mainland China amounted to US$26 billion (Tseng, Kwan and Cheung 1995).

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Rajeev Batra

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Ha, L., Ghosh, M., Batra, R., Zhang, J.H. (1999). Product Distribution Choices in China: A Transaction Cost Perspective. In: Batra, R. (eds) Marketing Issues in Transitional Economies. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5009-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5009-9_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7275-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5009-9

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