Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the dynamics of buyer–supplier industrial relationships and the role of customer attractiveness—a requisite to obtain best efforts from suppliers involved in collaborative initiatives. Design/methodology/approach: The paper develops a...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the contribution of suppliers and the purchasing department in affecting a firm’s ability to innovate. Design/methodology/approach The paper develops a theoretical framework (tested through an international survey on a sample of 524 companies)...

Purpose: Customers influence companies’ operational strategies and supply chain (SC) processes. In this vein, signals coming from the market must be translated into proper strategies in terms of production and supply. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding on how to...