A History of Network and Channels Thinking in Marketing in the 20th Century

The development of research explaining the structure and operations of interfirm relations and networks in marketing channels and business markets is described. The focus is on the main contributors and research themes that have underpinned the development of marketing thought in this area since the beginning of the 20th century. I show how ideas have been borrowed from other disciplines such as economics and the behavioral sciences to inform research and develop marketing theory, and how different but overlapping research traditions emerged in North America, Europe and Australasia. A broad picture is painted of the intellectual history regarding the subject of interfirm networks, rather than a detailed exposition of particular theories or contributions. This is followed by a state of knowledge assessment in terms of five fundamental explananda identified at the outset of the article. I conclude by discussing some of the main research issues challenging researchers in the 21st century.