Supply chain relationships in local government in the United Kingdom: An exploratory study

Local government in the United Kingdom is undergoing a period of transformational change. The Modernising Local Government white paper “In Touch with the People” (DETR 1998) has instructed local councils to obtain best value in the delivery of local services and this includes re-examining and challenging the use of in-house support services. This paper reports on an exploratory study examining the concept of relationship marketing focusing on the relationship that exists between Middlesborough Council’s laboratory service and its customers and to what extent government regulations have affected and changed attitudes and behaviours towards each other One of the key aims of the research is to challenge the linear nature of the way in which the stages of a relationship are considered in favour of a circular model of the development of relationships. This examination is set in the context of the “enforced” nature of local authority relationships. Research findings indicate that the nature of the relationship can been seen as cyclical rather than linear and the nature of the relationship in terms of social distance needs to be reevaluated in a context where social distance itself remains a significant factor for local government employees as a mean of avoiding the scrutiny of inter-personal relationships.