Today, companies do not compete individually on the market, but as members of a supply chain, delivering their goods or services to customers through shared collaboration. The main objective of the members in the chain is to satisfy customer needs, in the interest of which they cooperate in value adding processes. The main objective of the present study is to characterise the members of a supply chain, their relationship and to measure performance. The most relevant literature published on this topic states that investigation of the performance measurement in supply chains from the side of relationships is considered ‘uncharted territory’. However, the operation of a supply chain cannot be described without investigating its relationships.

Today the various business units on the market are not competing individually against each other, but doing this as members of a supply chain, which are delivering the products or services to the customers with coordination. The participants are cooperating in the process of purchasing, production and sale. Their common objective is to deliver for the consumer demand. The supply chain approach of the enterprises is a business philosophy, which requires trust, commitment, coordination, shared objectives, support from the management, and the understanding and acceptance of the mutual dependence (Német, 2009). The main objective of our study is to analyse the relationships among the players of the supply chain through several relationship indicators, such as trust, economical satisfaction, social satisfaction, compelling power, non-compelling power, dependence, reputation and conflict. The relationship among the players of the supply chain has been analysed from two aspects, through the position and through the role of the players of the supply chain. This study aims to present the results of the analysis highlighting the critical points.

Although researches on the subject of business relationships indicate that the quality of the relationship between the partners is a central element of effective cooperation, it can still be considered an unexplored territory. This paper aims to reveal the relationship of fruit producers  and customers, based on relationship quality, as well as determining what customer cooperation is regarded by fruit producers as the most favourable . The survey was conducted between 2013 and 2014, involving 223 producers from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, to evaluate their customer cooperation. The results of the evaluation concluded that producers value factors of relationship quality in their cooperation with sales channels differently. Their opinions reflect that overall the most favourable relationship exists between producers and agricultural cooperatives. The main reason is that this cooperation is primarily based on trust, commitment and friendship, where there is typically no conflict among parties and they mutually accept dependence. Since the results of the evaluation clearly reflected that producers value cooperation differently regarding the factors of relationship quality with respect to the various sales channels, further research is justified to reveal correlations between various relationship evaluations (opinion climates) and performance as well as devoting more attention to relationships among the various factors.

A vevő-szállító közötti kapcsolat vizsgálat egyre nagyobb jelentőséggel bír az ellátási lánc menedzsment területén, annak ellenére, hogy az üzleti kapcsolatok témakörében született kutatások a partnerek közötti kapcsolati minőséget a hatékony együttműködés lényeges elemeként jelölik meg. Mégis feltáratlan területként azonosítható, mert meghatározó dimenzióiban nincs egyetértés. Jelen tanulmány középpontjában a diadikus üzleti kapcsolatok állnak, célja, hogy alátámassza azt a feltételezést, miszerint az  ellátási lánc szereplői közötti bizalom, függés, konfliktus és személyes kapcsolat a láncban szereplők együttműködésének alapvető elemei és ezáltal a kapcsolati minőséget meghatározó tényezői lehetnek. Primer kutatásom eredményeként az említett dimenziókat a hazai friss gyümölcspiacra termelő mikrovállalkozások vevő és szállítói kapcsolataira vonatkozóan jellemzem és bemutatom, mennyiben járul hozzá a szereplők közötti jó üzleti kapcsolat a vállalkozás fő céljainak eléréséhez és versenyképességének növeléséhez. Kutatásom alapján megállapítható, hogy a bizalom, a függés, a konfliktus és a személyes kapcsolat a kapcsolati minőség meghatározó tényezői és bizonyítják azt a tényt, hogy a kapcsolati minőség hozzájárul az együttműködők teljesítményének fokozásához.

Although a number of studies have been conducted over the past decade to understand the factors influencing the willingness of producers to operate in a short supply chain (SSC), the intention to adapt can still be identified as an unexplored area. The main aim of the present study is to determine the extent to which Hungarian fresh sour cherry producers show a willingness to operate in a short supply chain and what investments they would make to do so. The sour cherry producers involved in the study clearly show a willingness to operate in a short supply chain. Some producers approach this in a “complex” manner, so they would even meet individual consumer needs and deliver orders to the consumer. Farmers opting for a “simpler” solution would prefer to sell their products to the consumer at their premises or at farmer’s markets. Further results support the fact that the more producers believe in the viability and future of SSCs and the higher their level of education is, the more willing they are to adapt in terms of resources or production processes in order to achieve complete transition. The results reflect the importance of examining the factors that determine farmers’ intentions to operate in the short supply chain, but it is also worthwhile and justified to explore how willing they are to “sacrifice” and invest in order to completely adapt.