Reassessing research on marketing channel strategies in the internet era: opportunities, challenges, and responses

Purpose Chinese marketing scholars have been studying marketing channel strategies for the past 20 years. However, the emergence of the internet and the digital economy has led to new marketing channels and practices that question the usefulness of this existing body of research, challenging Chinese marketing scholars specialized in channel strategy who are limited by path-dependent foundations and methods. This article reviews the research on marketing channel strategies by Chinese scholars, identifies the challenges posed by new channels and practices, and proposes some strategies for addressing these challenges. Design/methodology/approach This study systematically summarizes the research on marketing channel strategies published by Chinese scholars in English or Chinese in the past 20 years. Including articles published in either English-language or Chinese-language marketing journals allows this review to summarize the overall current state of marketing channel strategy research. Findings The theory and research methods used in studies of marketing channel strategies are relatively mature, and the field is saturated. However, the development of e-commerce and online channels have changed the structure of offline marketing channels, making Chinese scholars of marketing channel strategies to necessarily change Chinese scholars' thinking, methods, and research topics. Scholars from the fields of e-commerce, information system management, and big data are now conducting research on marketing channels. Chinese scholars who study marketing channel strategies need to establish and develop novel approaches to researching these new phenomena and practices. Originality/value This article analyzes the challenges faced by Chinese scholars who study marketing channel strategies and provides suggestions for future research in the area. The findings will assist in the development of research on new online and offline channel phenomena in the era of the internet and the digital economy.