Paper
Power relations in the UK grocery supply chain: Developments in the 1990s

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-6989(97)00004-0Get rights and content

Abstract

The heightened dependence of grocery manufacturers on a small number of major grocery retailers is well documented. Retailer concentration, new channels of physical goods distribution, the emergence of own label products, and the use of new information systems have combined to increase the capacity of the retail giants to exert power over their suppliers. However, our research suggests a more complex picture and therefore the need for further exploration of power in the grocery supply chain. This is because first, differentiated relations between suppliers and buyers complicate the picture of supplier dependence; secondly, because ambiguity and contradictions arise from legitimate activities.

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