Relational contracting between UK retailers and manufactures

This paper discusses the contractual relations between British retailers and manufacturers of bread and women's hosiery during the late 1980s. For these two product areas it draws on interview data to examine the use of new retailing purchasing processes and manufacturing production strategies in the context of the increasing dominance of forms of relational contracting between retailers and manufacturers. It uses the concepts of dependency and strategic game to examine these purchasing processes and production strategies.