Developing the capability to manage relationships : does maturity matter?

Supply chain management involves the extensive coordination of relationships of different lengths. Such relationships necessitate the notion of trust in favour of the long-term interests of the inter-organisational exchange (Das and Teng 1998). However, power usage can inhibit the effective management of these working arrangements with a long-term perspective (Naudé and Buttle 2000). This study investigates the presence of trust and usage of power in inter-firm relationships with the aim of understanding the influence of these two factors on the Australian road freight transport working arrangements. This study is part of a wider research project and represents the responses from a sample of 120 organisations involved in road freight. Initial findings indicate the importance of goodwill trust and the absence of coercive power in inter-firm relationships regardless of their duration. This clearly demonstrates to managers the importance of understanding the need to establish goodwill and balance of the use of power in forming a relationship between organisations.