The development of cooperation between the institutions of the distribution channel: the case of the evolution of the relationship between producers and large French distributors.

Summary In France, producers and large retailers have long been considered as opposites within the distribution channel, even in conflict. Changes in the environment and the discourse of public authorities affect the strategic orientations and organization of institutions that seek to improve their often tense relationship. One of the orientations is cooperation. Alongside the balance of power specific to trade negotiations, cooperation is trying to make its place in other areas. Its diffusion is inseparable from the trend towards relationship marketing. Its development is explained by the desire to increase the performance of the channel. Thus, institutions will be able to secure and improve their competitive advantage. In practice, the cooperation appears with the implementation of trade marketing and the efficient consumer response. Our questions are: is the evolution towards cooperation a reality? why should it be developed? and what are the preconditions? the present research is based on various currents (economic, behavioral, strategic) whose aim is to give a theorical foundation to the inter-firm relations and to cooperation. This is followed by an exploratory qualitative study that takes stock of the current state of relationships in the marketing of consumer products and verifies the reality and necessity of cooperation. A quantitative survey was then conducted to identify its antecedents. Dyads were formed to collect the opinions of distributors and manufacturers of their own brands. The results show that cooperation is real in some areas, that it can only develop under certain conditions, such as trust, commitment and dependence of the partners and cannot be envisaged with all the actors of the channel.