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Key‐account‐management in business markets: an empirical test of common assumptions

Key‐account‐management in business markets: an empirical test of common assumptions Purpose – The concept of key account management (KAM) has received considerable attention from practitioners and scholars for well over 20 years now. However, numerous articles build on a set of tacit assumptions for which we lack empirical evidence. This paper seeks to propose an empirical test of several of these assumptions. Design/methodology/approach – The contribution draws on a study conducted among 297 purchasing managers in two industries (packaging goods, market research data). Findings – The findings indicate that parts of the foundations of KAM are not as solid as they may appear at first sight. Practical implications – This paper invites managers of KAM programs to carefully consider the objectives they assign to such programs by integrating the idea of value created both for key customers and for suppliers implementing such programs. Originality/value – The paper extends knowledge of key account management in the business field by providing new – and, in the light of the extant literature, sometimes rather counter‐intuitive – insights in this important management phenomenon. It does this by systematically comparing key account relationships and non‐key account relationships. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing Emerald Publishing

Key‐account‐management in business markets: an empirical test of common assumptions

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References (65)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0885-8624
DOI
10.1108/08858620810881575
Publisher site
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Abstract

Purpose – The concept of key account management (KAM) has received considerable attention from practitioners and scholars for well over 20 years now. However, numerous articles build on a set of tacit assumptions for which we lack empirical evidence. This paper seeks to propose an empirical test of several of these assumptions. Design/methodology/approach – The contribution draws on a study conducted among 297 purchasing managers in two industries (packaging goods, market research data). Findings – The findings indicate that parts of the foundations of KAM are not as solid as they may appear at first sight. Practical implications – This paper invites managers of KAM programs to carefully consider the objectives they assign to such programs by integrating the idea of value created both for key customers and for suppliers implementing such programs. Originality/value – The paper extends knowledge of key account management in the business field by providing new – and, in the light of the extant literature, sometimes rather counter‐intuitive – insights in this important management phenomenon. It does this by systematically comparing key account relationships and non‐key account relationships.

Journal

Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 13, 2008

Keywords: Transaction costs; Buyer‐seller relationships; Resource management

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