14. Dignity as Perceived by Suppliers in the Business-to-Business Segment

The business relationship between companies is influenced or even governed by factors such as power, hierarchical position of involved professionals, size, and level of financial dependence between them. In B2B relationships, suppliers can be neglected and considered interchangeable, with prioritization for relationships based on dominance increased profits. Companies tend to have bargaining power over suppliers and customers, and a symmetrical relationship leads to a violation of dignity. This study presents how suppliers evaluate the dignity of customers. For this, the supplier-perceived dignity scale DIGC-B2B was developed and validated. Thereby, with the objective to investigate the concept of what a worthy customer is in the B2B relationship, 109 companies participated. In this way, we sought to expand theoretical knowledge about dignity and contribute to companies in their commercial relations. The periodic monitoring of organizational dignity through the DIGC-B2B scale allows companies to know and monitor how their suppliers perceive them as a dignified company. The dignified relationship between companies can affect purchasing conditions, price, and terms, in addition to the quality of products, and helps associations to evolve in the stages of organizational dignity practices.