Developing Co‐operative Buyer–Supplier Relationships: A Case Study of Toyota

Over recent years many businesses have recognized that there are strong competitive advantages in developing co‐operative partnerships with suppliers. An important challenge for many companies is to identify the factors to enable them to move from relationships characterized by strong buyer power and bargaining position, to partnerships based on trust and co‐operation. The purpose of this paper is to consider factors that may influence the development of co‐operative buyer–supplier relationships. A case study is presented which illustrates the developing relationship between an automotive manufacturer, Toyota Australia, and its suppliers, as part of a new supplier strategy. Several factors are proposed which provide areas for further research. These include the consideration of similarities between the industry and technologies of buyer and suppliers, prior experiences of change among suppliers, effective communications between buyer and suppliers, and the importance of experiential learning in the acceptance of change.