A Stage Model for Transitioning to Kam
MARKETING
MANAGEMENT
JOURNAL OF
A stage model for transitioning to KAM
Iain A. Davies, University of Bath, UK* Lynette J. Ryals, Cranfield School of Management, UK
Abstract This paper investigates the under-researched area of key account management (KAM) implementation through a systematic review of the literature, syndications with a panel of industry exemplars, and a survey investigating how organisations implement KAM. Through this we identify a stage model that identifies not only how companies currently transition to KAM in practice, but also suggests how they could improve their chances of success in transitioning to KAM. We demonstrate the fundamental elements of a KAM programme and the extent to which companies feel KAM has met their pre-implementation expectations.
Keywords Key Account Management, Strategic Account Management, Sales management, Industrial marketing, Implementation
INTRODUCTION
Key Account Management (KAM) has emerged, over the last 30 years, as one of the most significant trends in business-to-business marketing practice (Abratt and Kelly 2002; Homburg et al. 2002). It focuses on adding value to relationships and creating partnerships with a company’s most important and strategic customers (Ewart 1995; McDonald et al. 2000). The emergence of KAM has been driven in companies of all sizes by an increase in large, powerful, global, centralised purchasing customers becoming the norm across multiple industries; KAM provides our current best model for servicing these customers (McDonald et al. 1997). Despite the rapid growth in the use of KAM by companies, research into the process of KAM implementation and how companies transition from traditional sales to KAM orientation has been scarce (Kempeners and Hart 1999; Napolitano
*Correspondence details and biographies for the authors are located at the end of the article. JOURNAL OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 2009, Vol. 25, No. 9-10, pp. 1027-1048
ISSN0267-257X print /ISSN1472-1376
MANAGEMENT
JOURNAL OF
A stage model for transitioning to KAM
Iain A. Davies, University of Bath, UK* Lynette J. Ryals, Cranfield School of Management, UK
Abstract This paper investigates the under-researched area of key account management (KAM) implementation through a systematic review of the literature, syndications with a panel of industry exemplars, and a survey investigating how organisations implement KAM. Through this we identify a stage model that identifies not only how companies currently transition to KAM in practice, but also suggests how they could improve their chances of success in transitioning to KAM. We demonstrate the fundamental elements of a KAM programme and the extent to which companies feel KAM has met their pre-implementation expectations.
Keywords Key Account Management, Strategic Account Management, Sales management, Industrial marketing, Implementation
INTRODUCTION
Key Account Management (KAM) has emerged, over the last 30 years, as one of the most significant trends in business-to-business marketing practice (Abratt and Kelly 2002; Homburg et al. 2002). It focuses on adding value to relationships and creating partnerships with a company’s most important and strategic customers (Ewart 1995; McDonald et al. 2000). The emergence of KAM has been driven in companies of all sizes by an increase in large, powerful, global, centralised purchasing customers becoming the norm across multiple industries; KAM provides our current best model for servicing these customers (McDonald et al. 1997). Despite the rapid growth in the use of KAM by companies, research into the process of KAM implementation and how companies transition from traditional sales to KAM orientation has been scarce (Kempeners and Hart 1999; Napolitano
*Correspondence details and biographies for the authors are located at the end of the article. JOURNAL OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 2009, Vol. 25, No. 9-10, pp. 1027-1048
ISSN0267-257X print /ISSN1472-1376