Abstract
Background: Issues relating to dominant behaviour and bullying practices in supply chains are mostly not reported. Some evidence exists of unfair business practices in the apparel retail sector, but the extent and nature of such practices in South Africa, as well as the business implications for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have not been researched. The reason could be the sensitive nature of these issues and possible adverse implications for the SMEs supplying apparel to the retailers in Gauteng. Aim: The primary research objective is to determine the incidence and type of supply chain dominance experienced by SMEs in the retail apparel sector in Gauteng, as well as the business implications of such dominant behaviour and how SMEs cope with it. Setting: The setting for this study was the business premises of SME apparel suppliers in Gauteng. Methods: Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with seven SMEs that were apparel suppliers to the large retailers in Gauteng, to obtain the supplier perspective. Results: Six of the seven SMEs had experienced some form of bullying behaviour by large retailers in the apparel sector, such as late payments and long payment terms. For some of these SMEs, it had serious financial implications. Meaningful insight is provided into this supplier–buyer relationship between SMEs and large retailers in the apparel sector in Gauteng. Conclusion: This is the first study in South Africa investigating supply chain dominance, in particular supply chain bullying of SME suppliers through unfair business practices by dominant buyers in the apparel sector.
Highlights
A supply chain is a network made up of several complex activities that involve multiple key members, such as buyers, suppliers, service providers and end-consumers (Arshinder, Kanda & Deshmukh 2011)
At the outset of the research which focuses on a topic with which participants may not be familiar, it is essential to determine their understanding of the concept to ensure that the responses are within an informed context
Consistent with the findings of Jarratt and Morrison (2003), the results indicate that the management of the relationship over a period of time increased the fairness in the relationship, especially regarding controlling behaviour
Summary
A supply chain is a network made up of several complex activities that involve multiple key members, such as buyers, suppliers, service providers and end-consumers (Arshinder, Kanda & Deshmukh 2011). To ensure the success of the supply chain, a collaboration between these members, especially between buyers and sellers, is emphasised (Ryu, Soh & Koo 2009; Vlachos & Bourlakis 2006). Chain management extends beyond the design and management of various logistics activities and principally must include the management of buyer–supplier relationships to ensure its success (Ambrose, Marshall & Lynch 2010). Chain member relationships that lack the balance of dependency and interdependency cause power variations, eventually contributing and leading to unfair business practices (Barber 2011). Issues relating to dominant behaviour and bullying practices in supply chains are mostly not reported.
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