Written for an international audience of practicing managers and students of management, this book looks at marketing channels, the links between production and consumption. Illustrating general principles with specific examples, the book discusses a variety of products and services sold to businesses and consumers around the world. The book presents the concepts needed to frame the problem, and then explores the channel issues by means of examples. Chapters focus on the analytic framework, channel design, implementation and performance measurement, and channel institutions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)