玄野 博行

This article brings up the following problems; First, how do center firms in a channel network impact on various organizations? Second, in what way is the analytical power of the conventional channel viewpoint inadequate in capturing real situations? Third, to overcome this inadequacy, what kind of conceptual frameworks will be a strong foothold, and in what direction do they need to be developed? Based on the above background, this thesis presents the problem of consciousness of "what kind of channel network management should be implemented to gain a competitive advantage?" The significance of this problem of consciousness is confirmed by reviewing various literature on distribution channels, with the aims to gaining suggestions for future directions of research.

Survey research on Supply Chain Management (SCM) was reviewed in order to validate research questions and gain information on research design. This article focuses on the literature on internal and external collaboration, and covers the following three points. First, an overview of SCM studies using survey research. Secondly, confirmation of the hypotheses and observed variables in these studies. Thirdly, various issues in empirical research on SCM, and consideration of the research challenges for the author's work on the subject in future.