Baltic Journal of Management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare similarities and differences in perceived quality of business relationships in Norway and Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach – The Norwegian and Swedish sampling frames consisted of 600 small- and medium-sized firms in each country. A response rate of 36.5 percent was achieved in Norway and 21 percent in Sweden. Leading executives from both countries were used as key informants because they are the primary decision-makers most knowledgeable about their firm's interactions with suppliers.

Findings – The findings indicate that there are a series of significant differences and associations between the perceived quality of business relationships in small and medium-sized firms in Norway and Sweden, though both countries resemble each other in both socio-economic indicators and cultural dimensions.

Research limitations/implications – One suggestion for further research is to replicate the study in other industries, business relationships, and countries. Another is to undertake a longitudinal approach of the focal areas of “perceived quality” and “supplier criteria”.

Practical implications – This study is of managerial interest, as the framework may be applied by firms to monitor and evaluate ongoing supplier relationships and, in extension, their current customer relationships. It would be of interest to see if similarities exist amongst other cultures of the focal areas, and/or if there are differences across other countries that are decidedly different from those in Norway and Sweden.

Originality/value – This paper makes a contribution to inter-organizational theory since it outlines a conceptual framework of focal areas of “perceived quality” and “supplier criteria” for examining business relationships across industries and countries for the benefit of other researchers.