Abstract:

Issue-specific fairness and satisfaction perceptions have great effects on distribution channel relationship. This paper focuses on the effect of supplier’s product-harm crisis on distributor’s perceived fairness, satisfaction and channel cooperative climate after crisis. The results indicate that product-harm crisis severity and supplier’s refund can affect distributor’s perceived distributive fairness of the crisis. Supplier’s timely response and communication influence distributor’s perceived procedural fairness of the crisis. Distributor’s perceived distributive and procedural fairness can affect their economic and social satisfaction with the crisis respectively. Finally, we find that distributor’s social satisfaction with the crisis can influence channel cooperative climate after crisis, and relationship age between supplier and distributor negatively moderates the effect of economic and social satisfaction on channel cooperative climate after crisis.

Key words: Product-harm crisis, Distributor’s fairness perception, Distributor’s satisfaction, Cooperative climate