The relationship between companies is an important issue in the management of supply chains. Several aspects relating to the flow and exchange of information along the chain are considered as having a decisive influence on the success of this relationship. The main objective of this work was to structure and test models that link aspects of this nature with performance and the purchaser-supplier relationship in the supply chain. Aspects relevant to communication and the use of IT in relationships between companies were investigated. The importance of performance in this relationship was also investigated. The research was based on empirical data obtained by means of structural equation modeling. The results show that some aspects contribute in a significant way to the success of this relationship while others that, a priori, are considered important make no contribution.
Relationship; companies; supply chain; communication; information technology
