Jumping into the mouth of the dragon : profits and perils for channel managers in the emerging China market

The purpose of this article is to consider some of the difficulties channel managers might find in conducting their business operations due to aspects of the social, legal, regulatory, and infrastructure frameworks that presently exist in the People's Republic of China (PRC). While this fast-growing economy is immensely attractive to marketers worldwide, and while the PRC is to be lauded for making recognizable improvements in these structural frameworks, there is still much to consider before companies enter this market as a sole or joint venture. One recommendation that emerges from this article is that if a foreign company-especially small to medium sized enterprises-cannot afford to lose all of the resources that it invests in the China market without bankrupting the home organization, then it should not enter this market.