Explanatory power of factors influencing inter-firm relationships in the Australian road freight industry

Organisations are increasingly looking beyond their organisational boundaries to evaluate how resources can be utilised to survive and grow the business. Different inter-organisational relationships have emerged as important resources in supply chains. There is a need for firms to successfully manage a range of relationships and to understand the capabilities they need to benefit from relationships. There has been little empirical work done that has enabled organisations to predict what type of relationship they are ready to enter into, this research reports some early findings from an Australian study. The road transport sector is critical to all supply chains. This paper reports on a survey of road transport operators in Australia engaged in inter-firm relationships and examines the factors that influence the formation and nature of relationships. Initial findings indicate that, in less mature inter-firm relationships, the dominant type of relational factors are sharing and interdependency. It is also demonstrated that the importance that freight managers place on power does not encourage engagement in cooperative relationships.