Purpose: The objective of the study is to explore the relationship between supplier selection and national culture in the context of collaborations, filling the gap for the national cultural criteria that are deemed most important to incorporate in the supplier selection process from a Swedish perspective.Design/methodology/approach: This research reports on qualitative data collected from four companies operating in Sweden. The study uses thematic analysis to unveil the important national cultural criteria in the supplier selection process.Findings: The study revealed that long-term orientation, trust, communication, values aligned with societal ethics and the ability to adapt to diverse cultures were deemed crucial criteria regarding successful collaborations. Current supplier selection criteria used are mainly focused on economic and environmental criteria.Originality/value: To the best of the authors knowledge, no previous research paper has reviewed national cultural criteria for supplier selection in the context of collaboration from a Swedish perspective. This paper therefore adds to a limited section of studies about national cultural considerations in supplier selection, as supplier selection has been widely studied from the context of a highly analytical and rational decision problem, rather than a holistic and culturally sensitive one.