A comparative analysis of wholesale organizations in the channel of distribution for household appliances :

Abstract

An analysis of the data revealed that: (1) The size of the wholesale firms in both countries was significantly related to the level of technological development in each country. (2) Significant relationship existed between the socio-cultural environment and the size of the wholesale firms in both countries. (3) The size of the wholesale firms in both countries were significantly related to the economic environment. (4) No significant relationship existed between the level of technological development and the assortment structure of the wholesale firms. (5) The assortment structure of the wholesale firms were significantly related to the socio-cultural environment. (6) The assortment structure of the wholesale firms were significantly related to the economic environment. (7) The extent of market coverage by wholesale firms in both countries was significantly related to the level of technological development. (8) No significant relationship existed between the extent of market coverage and the socio-cultural environment. (9) The extent of market coverage by the wholesale firms in both countries were related to the economic environment. (10) There existed significant differences in the organizational structure of wholesale firms in Nigeria and the United States.

This study examined the organizational structures of household appliance wholesalers of two countries in different stages of environmental development, and determined their relationship to selected environmental variables. More specifically, the nature of association between economic, socio-cultural, and technological environment and the size, assortment structure, and extent of market coverage of whosesale firms in Nigeria and the United States were investigated. Further, the difference and similarities in the organizational structure of firms in the two countries were examined. The population for the study was 300 wholesale organizations in the United States, and 60 wholesale organizations in Nigeria. Canonical Correlation and Factor Analysis techniques were employed to test the nine hypothesis regarding the extent of relationship between the environmental variables and the organizational structure of firms in each country. The tenth hypothesis concerning the differences between the organizational structure of firms in both countries were examined using the Student t-test. The .05 level of significance was the criterion used for accepting or rejecting each of the ten hypotheses.