Measuring distributive and procedural justice: An exploratory investigation of the fairness of retailer‐supplier relationships in the UK food industry

A report on UK supermarkets published by the Competition Commission in October 2000 concluded that there was evidence that multiple food retailers were abusing their position of power and engaging in practices that adversely affected the competitiveness of suppliers. To address these adverse effects it was recommended that a code of practice be introduced to govern retailer‐supplier relationships. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is co‐ordinating a project that is designed to monitor the extent to which multiple retailers are complying with the principles set out in the code of practice. This paper presents the findings of exploratory research, conducted as part of this project, to investigate suppliers’ current perceptions of the fairness of their trading relationships with the multiple retailers.