Within the UK retail sector, relationships between retailers, processors and farmers have changed, as vertical co-ordination has emerged as a strategy to manage the perceived risks associated with the consumption of beef. However, little attention has been given to the examination of contractual...

The contemporary view of competitiveness and strategy is based on the foundation that customer value is created by firms working together for common aims and not created by firms working in isolation. Therefore there is increasing recognition that firms who engage in co-operative long-term...

This paper reports the findings from two exploratory case studies of retailer-led quality assurance schemes (QAS) for beef in Germany and Italy. The focus is on the potential for QAS to reduce the risks associated with fresh beef, as perceived by consumers. Results of two consumer surveys are...

Analysis of secondary data and information gathered from interviews with downstream wool supply chain members suggests that problems exist with the sourcing of raw wool for the apparel textile industry. Specific problems relate to 'hard' attributes, such as contaminated fibres and fibre...