Co‐operation or coercion? Supplier networks and relationships in the UK food industry

Abstract

As a result of several high profile food scares in recent years, the practices of key players in the UK food industry have been called into question on ethical grounds. These practices include a range of operational activities including those concerned with supply chain management which form the focus of this study. This paper utilises an interpretive methodology to examine the buyer‐supplier relationships in the food industry from the perspectives of manufacturing managers and food regulators. The paper utilises the transcripted data from 20 interviews with senior officials from the UK’s food regulation services and from marketing and quality managers working in the food processing and production industry. The study demonstrates the application of interpretive analysis and interview technique to establish the issues concerning the food industry network in the UK today. This is set against Craig Smith’s model of ethical stance and decision making which serves as the backdrop to explicating the respondents’ perspectives on the food industry of the UK. Reveals coercive practices at work in the supply chain and details how this manifests in the lives of regulators and manufacturing managers and in the operations of the companies they work with.