Business Cooperations Along the Supply Chain

Abstract Cooperation between and within the companies can be an important success factor. Based on trust, companies at present have created formal and informal network structures in which cooperation between them plays a special role. In the present times, the economic importance of supply chains can be observed in almost every industry regardless size: multinational companies and even small and medium-sized enterprises are actively involved in global value-creating chains. More and more business leaders recognize that when consumers are about to decide on their purchases, not just performance of a company is evaluated but that of the entire supply chain and supply network. Forms of cooperation in the supply chain affect the companies in several ways: we can investigate its impact on growth, operation and thus, on the effectiveness of the supply chain and competitiveness. Both cooperation between and within companies are important in creating the ultimate value added. This paper aims to explore the functional fields in which companies cooperate with each other, i.e. how and in what manner they are connected to each other. Results and conclusions are based on in-depth interviews and a questionnaire filled in by companies in Hungary.