Sustainable supplier-distributor relationships: insights from Australian agribusinesses

Abstract

This study investigated the factors that impact on the success of supplier-distributor relationships in the Australian agribusiness industry. The importance of this research lies in the fact that while B2B relationships have been researched extensively and across a range of industries, there is little evidence of its application to the agribusiness sector. From the extant literature, a preliminary framework of success factors was developed and investigated through 20 in-depth interviews conducted with 10 agribusinesses from a dyadic perspective. The findings of this research confirmed the initial 11 factors presented in the preliminary framework as being important to the success of supplier-distributor relationships. The research findings also revealed insights into six new factors that were considered to be crucial to the relationship success, which were included in the revised framework for future investigation.