The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of internal marketing in influencing corporate culture. The need for organisations to focus on human resources towards developing a marketing orientation is well recognised. The tactics for achieving this objective, however, have yet to be proven. This paper reports on the use of the Investors In People (IIP) initiative as a framework for internal marketing in changing the prevailing culture of an organisation. Within this initiative enlightened employers must communicate the business aims, values and performance of their organisations, in order to encourage employees to participate actively in the success of the business. Using the example of a medium sized, family owned company operating in a declining market sector, this research reports the results of a longitudinal study designed to elicit employee attitudes towards, and understanding of, change in the organisation. The results suggest that although there is a broad understanding amongst employees of the corporate objectives of the organisation, there is resistance to the credibility of cultural change

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to constructively evaluate the process adopted by a leading Australian food processor to engage its major supply chain partners more collaboratively as part of the company's strategy to strengthen its competitive position. Design/methodology/approach -This paper adopts a qualitative methodology and is based on a series of semi-structured interviews conducted over a two-year period with multiple informants within the focal company and its supply chain partners. Findings -This research illustrates the importance of the focal firm having developed its own collaborative capabilities before engaging their supply chain partners. The findings clearly demonstrate that building closer relationships even with important supply chain partners is difficult and resource intensive and that the nature of the ensuring relationship will vary.Research limitations/implications -The major limitation of this research is that it is centred on a single case study, which restricts the extent to which generalizations can be drawn from its outcomes. This limitation is off-set by the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that influence the development of supply chain relationships. Practical implications -Many of the published works in this area are theoretical or prescriptive in nature, this paper provides an empirical example of the issues involved in the development of inter-organizational relationships and their management Originality/value -This paper reports on a longitudinal study over a two-year period, which involved multiple interviews with respondents who were participants in the engagement process.

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