Abstract The story of the growth of emerging economies is about the growth of their marketing institutions. Marketing channels are the key marketing institution in enabling the flow of goods and services. However, marketing scholars typically rely on models and theories devised in the developed economies to study the marketing channels in emerging economies, and these include theories based on political economy-based frameworks that emphasize power and dependence. We argue that often the institutional drives to gain legitimacy provide a powerful lens to understand the evolution of marketing channels. In this conceptual paper, we illustrate our arguments through a few examples, and provide an agenda for future research. Keywords: Marketing Channels, Emerging Economies, Institutional Theory Introduction Emerging economies are often characterized by their relatively higher and sustainable growth rates. The attendant economic conditions usually include increase in productivity and GDP at rates higher than those in the developed economies. These developments affect many facets of economy. For example, the increased variety and flow of goods and services result in the development and evolution of marketing channels. This is an expected outcome because growing economy and the increase in consumption go hand in hand and the marketing channels are made of interdependent organizations (channel members) that link the marketer with the end consumer. Wholesalers, agents, brokers, insurers, retailers, warehouses, transporters, specialized delivery vehicles, road, rail, ports, waterways, and the electronic data network – these all are vital ingredients of a marketing channel system that keeps the economy humming. Despite the central role of marketing channels (or simply channels) in connecting the marketers and consumers, surprisingly little attention is paid to understanding how marketing channels evolve in emerging economies and if the dominant frameworks and model used to understand the channels in developed economies are appropriate in understanding the evolution of channels in emerging economies. Usually, the models from the mature economies are deemed relevant for the emerging economies as well (e.g., Dong, Tse, and Hung 2010; Kale 1986). It is our thesis that the neoclassical theory based efficiency centered framework or the political economy-based models, the dominant theoretical frameworks through which the functioning of channels is examined in developed markets,