A comparative assessment of domestic and international supplier-customer relationship perceptions

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to compare aggregate differences in perceptions of supplier-customer relationship structures of managers in the USA and Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach - Two studies used a survey method to assess graduate student perceptions of supplier-customer relationships. Those graduate students had been responsible for managing business exchange relationships in their previous positions. The surveys were administered at different times in executive MBA classes at a major US university and a major Taiwanese university. An analysis was conducted to understand similarities and differences in relationship perceptions between US managers and Taiwanese managers. Findings - Differences exist between US and Taiwanese managers' perceptions of their supplier-customer relationships. This indicates that US managers and Taiwanese managers differentiate among such relationships. However, the application of those differences may be unique to the nature of the business environments in the USA and Taiwan. Practical implications - Managers should be careful when negotiating between US and Taiwanese firms to insure that they do not make decisions about how they anticipate the other party will view the supplier/customer relationship based on generic cultural assumptions. In addition, Taiwanese managers may be better able to classify their relationships into common groups than US managers, indicating that US managers may be less likely to try to segment their suppliers or customers into different groups for development of interaction and negotiation strategies. In addition, this research demonstrates a critical need for future comparative studies to assess relationship perceptions from other parts of the globe. The lack of similarities between the responses of the US and Taiwanese managers indicates potential differences in supplier/customer relationship perceptions around the world. This becomes critical for improved understanding of how interactions and negotiations (as well as the development of operating strategies by firms) should occur in global exchange. Originality/value - This research offers initial insight into the importance of understanding relationship perception differences based on global business operations. As the world becomes "flatter," managers from around the globe will need to understand how those perceptions differ for development of effective negotiating strategies between suppliers and customers.