ASSESSING CROSS-NATIONAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS - HOW MEXICAN DISTRIBUTORS RATE US MANUFACTURERS

This article presents a method for manufacturers to assess how their s upport efforts are received by distributors. The process is illustrate d with the results of a survey of Mexican distributors who assessed th eir relationships with U.S. manufacturers. Using distributor importanc e ratings of manufacturer support and ratings of manufacturer performa nce on these elements, a peformance ''gap'' measure is created. The us efulness of the performance gap in developing manufacturer support pro grams is evaluated by examining the gap's relationship to open communi cation, conflict, and distributor commitment. Because a performance ga p increases conflict and decreases open communication within the relat ionship, the process should benefit manufacturers by helping them iden tify specific support activities that are important to distributors an d need improvement.