HSE Publishing House

The author uses the tools of modern economic sociology to study complicated and often conflicting interactions in the supply chain between retailers and their suppliers. Using proprietary quantitative and qualitative data and empirical approach, he demonstrates how the power of market penetrates into all business transactions and how the competition leads to the development of social ties. The underlying causes of conflicts are revealed, as well as the economic meaning of admission and other bonus fees imposed by retailers on their suppliers. The drafting and the debates on the Federal Law “On the basics of state regulation of trade in the Russian Federation” (No. 381-FZ) is used as the case for a detailed research of the mechanisms behind the change of game rules.