In the global economy, the nature of business relationships is changing rapidly. Executives at companies of all sizes are beginning to realise the need to collaborate and partner more frequently with suppliers, customers and alliance groups - and even competitors - to launch new products, innovate more quickly, lower costs and improve overall customer service.

As companies collaborate with one another the old transactional arrangements have become more complex and, in some ways, more risky. Firms now share more information with their partners than before, opening up the possibility of sensitive business data ending up in the wrong hands and creating significant issues around trust. As a result, companies must think very carefully about the types of partnerships that make the most business sense, and how best to manage the development of these relationships to ensure success.

In order to better understand the opportunities, challenges, risks and rewards companies have seen from these types of agreements, the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a survey in March 2008, sponsored by SAP, which asked 516 senior executives how their business relationships are evolving.