The role of customer relationships in the growth of small‐ to medium‐sized manufacturers

This work is focused on small‐ to medium‐sized manufacturers (SMMs) within supply chains and, in particular, on how such SMMs develop effective working relationships with customers. Development of a model based on the literature was followed by a mail survey, augmented by semi‐structured interviews with SMMs. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to provide an understanding of the underlying processes.