Key account management configurations and their effectiveness: A quasi-replication and extension

Abstract

Two important areas in the key account management (KAM) literature deal with different KAM frameworks and KAM performance drivers. In particular, scholars have derived taxonomies of KAM configurations and identified organizational determinants of KAM effectiveness and performance in the market. The present paper contributes to the KAM literature with a quasi-replication and extension of two seminal papers providing an update of different KAM configurations along with the determinants of KAM effectiveness and performance in the market. Using recently collected survey data from a sample of 411 managers, and considering KAM capabilities and KAM communication, we find evidence of five unique KAM configurations that differ from the findings of Homburg et al. (2002), thereby doubtless reflecting a professionalization of the KAM domain. Furthermore, updating Workman et al. (2003), we find that KAM capabilities are important determinants of KAM effectiveness and performance in the market, and that social media communication increases KAM effectiveness. These insights contribute to building a cumulative up-to-date body of knowledge about KAM and provide guidance for managers to improve their KAM.