The role of supplier-customer relationships in the value chain in times of crisis

The main aim of this article is to identify the evolution of the importance of supplier-customer relations in the period of crisis and the factors influencing the change of this importance. The research question was answered by testing a total of 6 hypotheses, which focused on comparing the degree of influence of factors such as firm size, industry, and profitability on the growth in the importance of supplier-customer relationships in the COVID-19 period. Boxplot and histogram were used to ensure the normality of data. The results suggest that the significance of supplier-customer relationships increased during the crisis period (COVID-19). The firm's profitability influences the growth in the importance of supplier-customer relationships before the pandemic, industry (the growth in importance is more pronounced in industrial firms) and overall sector (the growth in importance is stronger in the secondary sector than in the tertiary sector). In contrast, the association between firm size and the growth in the importance of supplier-customer relationships is not confirmed. Limitations of the study: the research results apply only to enterprises in the Czech Republic, and it is of a short-term focus (i.e., it cannot be said with certainty whether the increase in the importance of supplier-customer relationships is permanent or a short-term fluctuation). Thus, the results of the impact of individual factors may vary over longer time horizons.