Version 1.0, October 2026. 98 constructs in 18 families across 7 eras, with 18 imported theories below. Selecting a cell reveals its family, era, block, tier, and anchor works, each anchoring reference linking to the publisher’s page. Explore the 18 Family Deep Dives for granular sub-tables, or visit Resources to use the four interactive analytical tools.
Each cell: number, influence pips, block code, then symbol, construct, and anchor works
open frontier position
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Detached series · Theories imported from adjacent fields, each set near the families it feeds
Series
T
Imported Theories
34IP
Pe
Channel Political Economy
Family
13. Channels and Governance (V · Interfirm Networks)
Era
Period 3: Competitive Advantage, 1980s
Block
IP · Implementation, process
Tier
Major
Cell card
Description
Stern and Reve proposed the political economy framework, in which channel structure and processes are analyzed as an internal economy and internal polity interacting with an external economic and sociopolitical environment.
Managerial Implications
A channel is both an economy (who does what, who earns what) and a polity (who decides, how conflict is handled), inside an external environment. When redesigning a channel, change the economic and political structures together; new margin arrangements without new decision rights, or the reverse, produce conflict. Analyze the environment too, because regulation and technology reshape channel economics faster than partners adapt.
How to read. Down a column follows one research stream through time. Across a row shows what the field studied in an era. Color marks the strategy domain, after Morgan et al. (2019). Pips give an influence tier. Numbers run by era, then family. Placements, anchors, and tiers are editorial judgments, and anchors are entry points rather than a complete record of any stream. Anyone who uses or adapts this table is responsible for verifying its contents against the original works.
