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The primary aim of this research is to explore buyer‐supplier relationships within a service sector context.

To address the primary aim, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilised. A questionnaire was issued to selected buyer and supplier groups in order to determine relationship issues associated with insurance claims. The questionnaire was complemented by a number of semi‐structured interviews with buyers and suppliers across each spend category.

The results of this research indicate that there are significant gaps between buyer and supplier expectations concerning how relationships should evolve and that the issues of power and trust will need to be explored in greater depth if relationships are to be optimised.

This research is of practical use to service sector companies attempting to examine how to develop effective buyer‐supplier relationships. It is of particular use to service buyer operations within the insurance sector, that is moving from the traditional cash compensation approach to a replacement goods approach.

Very little has been written about buyer‐supplier relationships in the insurance sector and as such this paper provides an insight into issues relating to such relationships within this unique service sector context.

Managers and academics alike focus on value creation in business relationships. This paper adds to existing literature by analyzing functions of business relationships and their impact on value perception. Applying a customer perspective, direct relationship functions are concerned about payment, quality, and volume. Indirect functions include innovation, access, and scouting. Furthermore, trust and number of alternative suppliers are included in the study. The empirical results illustrate the important role of direct and indirect functions for value creation. Understanding these functions is instrumental for driving customer value, both for the supplier and the seller. Direct functions do have a much stronger impact on value than indirect functions that still do have a significant impact. Thus, increasing direct function fulfillment is much more effective in order to gain key supplier status than relying only on indirect functions. But indirect functions may offer ample differentiation opportunities. Being a strong driver of relationship value, trust is also driven by function fulfillment. Thus, relationship value depends on rational elements (functions) and social elements (trust). Availability of alternative suppliers increases the importance of relationship function fulfillment on customer value and customer trust. In highly competitive markets, suppliers need clear understanding and communication of relationship value in order to succeed.

The purpose of this study is to examine what happens to human relationships when a family business is handed off to the next generation. The second generation, to succeed, must work to nurture and sustain current customer, supplier, and employee relationships so as not to damage existing goodwill. As power is transferred from the founder of the family business to the next generation, organizational issues and the leadership style of the successor take center stage.

This is strictly a conceptual paper designed for the practitioner. There is no empirical study therein, only theoretical frameworks to guide practitioners and family business owners. It is meant to be informational with many useful “tips” for family business succession.

Relationships with valuable human resources, such as current customers, suppliers, and employees must receive the attention they deserve to avoid negatively impacting organizational brand equity. Failure to nurture supplier relationships can increase costs and access. Neglected customer relationships may cause the loss of key members of these groups, contributing significantly to second-generation business failures. Damaged employee relationships cause expensive turnover, loss in customers, and negative word of mouth. Research suggests that only 30 per cent of businesses survive into the second generation and even less (about 13 per cent) into the third generation (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015).

The next step would be to test the propositions using both qualitative and quantitative research, beginning with interviews of second-generation family business owners. The interviews would test the successor-generations’ attitudes and behaviors toward established customers, suppliers, and employees. Attitudes would be measured on a Likert scale to explore the perceived importance of current customers, employees, and suppliers to the new owner. Issues of commitment, responsibility, loyalty, friendship, respect, and caring would also be measured to evaluate how relationship-friendly the new owner is. Levels of retention of key stakeholders would then be correlated with the firm’s financial success or failure to see if there is any statistically significant relationship.

Establishing and maintaining strong trust relationships will socially bond customers, employees, and suppliers to the organization. Introduction of a second generation changes the dynamics of these relationships, so care is critical, as customers, suppliers, and employees become anxious with change. Relationship management is about nurturing customer relationships, honoring supplier arrangements, and developing employees. Consistent care toward trusted human resources creates brand equity (or monetary value). Naturally, family businesses start small and understand the value of each relationship, but as the business passes from the founder to the second generation, these loyal, trusted relationships may be tested. It is up to the successor to assure customers, suppliers, and employees that they are a valued part of the operation. Inability to do this will likely lead to an erosion of the business’ loyal base and may precipitate in failure of the firm for the successor.

The social implications revolve around acceptable human interaction and proper treatment of individuals who are critical to the small family business’ success. As a family business passes from the founder to the second generation, loyal, trusted relationships may be tested. It is up to the successor to assure customers, suppliers, and employees that they are a valued part of the operation. Inability to do this will likely lead to an erosion of the business’ loyal base and may precipitate in failure of the firm for the successor.

It is original in that it is practitioner-oriented and full of useful tips for the family business owner. None of the information contained therein is novel. It is a consensus or compilation of useful information packaged for a practitioner.

The aim of this paper is to report the findings from a survey of UK conference and event managers, which highlights the benefits that can accrue from supplier management within this sector.

A survey of venue managers covering a cross‐section of venue types was used.

A significant proportion of venue managers report having long‐term supplier relationships, placing considerable value on the non‐financial benefits that can accrue from long‐term supplier relations featuring mutual trust and good working relationships. These include consistency, responsiveness and flexibility in service delivery. Additionally, the familiarity of regular suppliers with the venue and its procedures, can lead to seamless service delivery to the customer and free‐up venue managers time.

The research design provides a one‐sided view of supplier relationships.

Attention is drawn to the performance benefits arising from building supplier relationships and offers guidance as to how these can be sustained by avoiding the pitfalls on long‐term relationships. In doing so, the findings legitimise the importance of taking non‐financial considerations into account when awarding or renewing supply contracts.

This paper applies lessons emerging from research on supplier relationships to a growing, but under‐researched, sector of the hospitality industry.

Given the continued growth in the globalization of production, working conditions in global supply chains have come under increased scrutiny. Although there has been much debate about corporate codes of conduct and monitoring procedures, the question of how buyers influence their suppliers’ working conditions at the factory level remains poorly understood. Using a unique data set based on monitoring by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and original survey data collected in Cambodia's garment sector, this study shows that the main channel linking buyers and supplier compliance performance is the nature of their relationships. Market-based relationships mediated through sourcing agents are systematically associated with poorer compliance performance. In particular, when a reputation-conscious buyer is sourcing from a factory, it has a positive effect on compliance, and their presence appears to condition relationship variables. Deterrence and learning channels are not supported by the evidence. The findings signal the need to pay more attention to the nature of buyer–supplier relationships if we seek to improve labor standard compliance. Market-based relationships motivate neither buyers nor suppliers to invest their time and resources to tackle the root causes of poor working conditions. Rather, the results here indicate the need to develop collaborative relationships marked by open dialogue, trust, and commitment, which in turn help to foster an environment supportive of continuous improvement in working conditions.

Given the intensified competitiveness in the wine retail industry, partnering with quality suppliers becomes critical to ensure a steady supply of high-quality products and sustainable business growth. This study aims to explore how wine supplier quality attributes impact wine retail businesses and if such effects differ depending on wine retail types.

Data were obtained from wine purchasing managers in Korea. To validate the proposed relationships, structural equation modeling was used. A multigroup analysis was conducted to test distinct roles of on/off-premise wine retail types within this research framework.

Results support the significance of supplier quality attributes in shaping the landscape of wine retail businesses. Operational and strategic benefits exhibited a positive effect on both financial performance and suppliers’ relationship satisfaction, thereby improving the intent to continue working with suppliers. This study revealed noteworthy distinctions in the effects of supplier quality attributes on operational and strategic benefits between on-premise and off-premise wine retailers.

Findings provide valuable insights to wine suppliers and buyers concerning the establishment of a mutually beneficial long-term interdependent relationship. The approach sheds light on the unique dynamics of wine retail types, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the distinct roles of supplier quality attributes on on-premise and off-premise retailers.

This study developed an integrative framework, emphasizing the importance of supplier quality attributes in the wine retail industry. This model offers valuable insights into creating favorable buyer–supplier relationships that result in mutual benefits for both wine retailers and suppliers.

This study aims to investigate whether higher value creation leads to higher value appropriation and to identify the boundary conditions in a buyer–supplier relationship that can explain why a particular supplier can appropriate higher value than others.

The study uses questionnaire surveys. The sample of the survey has 150 publicly-listed supplier firms in Taiwan. The unit of analysis is the buyer–supplier relationship.

In the buyer–supplier relationship, suppliers’ bargaining power, partnership and a supplier’s original brand manufacturing (OBM) business can strengthen the positive relationship between value creation and value appropriation.

This study adopts the unilateral viewpoint of suppliers; however, some constructs might require dyadic evaluation. This study only explores the spillover effect of OBM business on the relationship between value creation and appropriation.

The spillover effect of a supplier’s OBM business in a buyer–supplier relationship allows the buyer to share more common benefits and the supplier to capture more private benefits as compensation. By broadening its customer base, a supplier can increase its bargaining power. A supplier can also maintain a strategic partnership with each essential buyer.

To avoid the dark-side effect of partnership, the model provides the contingency that a supplier can capture more value from a buyer–supplier relationship.

Although trust and distrust as distinct phenomena are of increasing interest to operations and supply chain management (OSCM) scholars, they have been inconsistently conceptualized and there is a lack of evidence regarding the distinctiveness of their respective antecedents. This study, therefore, focuses on one of the most widely accepted dimensions of trust, benevolence, to help more fully analyse (supplier) trust and distrust (in a buyer) and explore the effects of relational norms and structural power as specific antecedents.

The study employed a scenario-based role-playing experimental method. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling.

The results that while relational norms increase supplier trust, power asymmetry can simultaneously generate supplier distrust, support the coexistence of supplier trust and distrust in a buyer–supplier relationship.

This study is one of the first to explore the antecedents of supplier trust and distrust in a buyer. It demonstrates that supplier trust and distrust can coexist when the relationship is characterized by relational norms and asymmetrical power. This opens important questions for future trust–distrust research.

Due to the current volatile environment and fierce competition, manufacturing firms (MFs) must improve their performance to survive. In this regard, checking and monitoring the suppliers' risk should significantly improve the performance of MFs. In addition, a relation based on not being an opportunist, confidence and reliance are influential factors in reducing the supplier defaults on his/her supply obligations and improving supply chain performance (SCP). Besides, the moderator function of supplier involvement (SI) in the relationship between quality of the relationship (QoR) and supply risk mitigation (SRM) is undeniable.

Based on the survey of 148 samples from small to large-sized MFs in Jordan, Turkey and Egypt, empirical evidence has been conducted to support a majority of the authors’ hypotheses. This paper provides a theoretical review of buyer–supplier relationships and supply risk. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling (SEM)/Smart PLS-4.

According to the results, confidence and reliance have statistically significant and positive impacts on SRM, resulting in better SCP. Moreover, the findings show that SI positively affects and moderates the relationship between confidence (C) and SRM, while it has no statistically significant influence on the relationship between reliance (R) and SRM.

This study provides necessary material for managers and decision-makers in MFs to confirm the importance and understanding of the QoR in building relationships and business dealings with partners in the SC, in addition to limiting and mitigating the risks of an interruption in supply in particular. Therefore, building a high-quality relationship as a practice based on trust and reliability with suppliers positively affects the performance of the SCs of MFs.

This research paper offers empirical evidence for using QoR within SRM resources of MFs' context for enhancing their supply chain performance. This study is one of few studies that examine the QoR and SRM that contribute to enhancing SCP in MFs in developing countries, which also can serve as a reference for many SC managers and practitioners.