Managing Relationships in the UK Organic Food Sector

The paper explores the management of business-tobusiness relationships in the rapidly growing UK organic food industry. Interviewees perceived that supermarkets were attempting to use market power to dominate the industry, despite their partnership rhetoric. This was potentially at the expense of smaller companies that had pioneered the development of the organic food sector. A severe supply shortage of organic products had boosted the relative bargaining position of the pioneer companies. As this advantage declines, the pioneer companies face a limited window of opportunity to build relationships with the supermarkets. The paper concludes by considering implications for relationships within the industry, and for relationship management in general.