Managing supplier relationship: Case studies of small and medium Asian grocery retailers in Australia

Extant literature on asymmetry in supplier-buyer relationships have tended to concentrate on the larger, stronger buyers (Johnsen and Ford, 2008) and how they capitalize on their buying power to exploit the asymmetrical relationships (e.g., Dobson and Chakraborty, 2008; Harrison, 2004; Mills, 2003). Relatively few studies have examined the manner in which the smaller party, be it supplier or buyer, copes with such an asymmetry. Given that asymmetry exists in supplier-buyer relationships, despite the opportunistic behaviour of the more powerful buyers, smaller buyers, expectedly, would have their own means to respond to the disadvantages they face in size asymmetry to sustain and growth their businesses. For instance, Johnsen and Ford (2008) have found that small suppliers do leverage their limited power (such as technological know-how) strategically to assist their larger customers in new product or project developments to consolidate their relationship with important buyers. The manner in which small retailers manage size asymmetry in their relationship with larger suppliers is the subject of this paper, which is set within the context of the Asian grocery industry in Australia.