The Effect of Conflict with the Apparel Manufacturer on Satisfaction of the Frsnchised Agency in the Apparel Industry

The Purposes of this study ar (1) to identify types and levels of channel conflicts between an apparel manufacturer and a franchised agency, (2) to investigate the effect of economic dependence on conflicts, and (3) to examine the effect of conflicts on satisfaction in a franchised agency's perspective in distributive channel of Korean apparel industry. For this study, questionnaires were administered to the owner or manager of 300 franchised agencies. Employing a sample of 209, data were analyzed by using means, factor analysis, pearson correlation and multi-regression analysis. Major findings are as follows: 1) Types of conflicts between apparel manufacturers and franchised agencies are identified as goal divergence, difference in perception, ineffective communication and lack of role clarity. The highest level of conflicts are lack of role clarity, followed by goal divergence, difference in perception and ineffective communication. 2) Economic dependence leads to channel conflicts in part. Greater levels of economic dependence foster greater conflicts such as lack of role clarity and lower conflicts such as ineffective communication. 3) With respect to effect of conflict on satisfaction, the greater the levels of conflict, the lower the degree of satisfaction with ole performance and with business decision and overall satisfaction.