Will the real channel manager please stand up?

For decades, marketing channel management has been widely written and talked about but never connected with any "real world" business position. What's more, the many articles and textbooks on the topic seldom provide any hint as to who is supposed to be doing all these functions. At last, based on a national study and a systematic review of the literature to find the most likely suspect, we have identified the ertswhile unknown channel manager. It is now up to top management to provide the selection criteria, training, rewards, and respect for this newly recognized position because it is central to corporate.