Browsing by Author "Holt, Sue"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Creating and capturing value in KAM relationships
    (Taylor & Francis, 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z) Ryals, Lynette; Holt, Sue
    Questions have recently been raised about whether key account management (KAM) pays off for suppliers. Previous research has been equivocal on this issue. Yet suppliers are increasingly adopting (or being forced by their customers to adopt) KAM, which could be problematic if the supplier is unable to capture value from the relationship. This research examines how suppliers capture value from KAM. First, supplier-influenceable aspects of the value of the customer are explored through an elucidation of the drivers of customer revenues and costs. Then, value capture in KAM relationships is examined through the lens of five research propositions. The first result of the research contributes to theory with a detailed model of the drivers of customer lifetime value. The second result contributes to KAM practice through a confirmation of the five propositions and an exploration of how ten good practice companies capture value from their KAM relationships.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    GAMs, KAMs and Relationship Managers: What they do and how to find them
    (School of Management, Cranfield University, 2008-01) Davies, Iain; Holt, Sue; Ryals, Lynette
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Relationship Management: a sales role, or a state of mind? An investigation of functions and attitudes across a business-to-business sales force
    (Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam., 2010-10-01T00:00:00Z) Davies, Iain A.; Ryals, Lynette; Holt, Sue
    Commentators suggest that the business-to-business sales role is changing and evolving into relationship management. Previous research indicates that a relationship management role is very different from ‘traditional' sales, and that it may require a different attitude on the part of the relationship manager. This research explores attitudes towards various aspects of relationship management across an entire international business-to-business sales force in a service industry context. We find that attitudes towards relationship management do not in fact align with job role. A cluster analysis reveals three attitudinal types of sales person: Self-Directed; Team Leaders; and Strategic Sellers. Our findings suggest that some individuals may have attitudes that are inappropriate to their roles, and that attitudes should be taken into account when selecting relationship manager
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Role of the global account manager : a boundary role theory perspective
    (Cranfield University, 2003-02) Holt, Sue; McDonald, Malcolm
    As the business environment takes on a global perspective for many business-to- business organisations, so the area of Global Account Management (GAM) has become an increasingly important issue for both researchers and practitioners. This study is focused on providing an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of the roles of global account managers in managing relationships with global customers. This aspect of global account management has received little attention in the literature with little empirical research in the area. From the extant literature on global account management, global account manager roles and relationships in business-to-business markets, a conceptual framework of the global account manager role was constructed. This was supported by role theory, boundary role theory, and theory on the buyer-seller interface. The research was conducted within the realism philosophical paradigm, using a qualitative case study approach with four co-operative case organisations. The research design was also grounded in boundary role theory, with data being collected from the global account managers, their managers, customers and their internal team members in order to provide a rich picture of the role. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data and the interviews were analysed against the conceptual framework using a qualitative data analysis package, QSR NVivo. Within-case analyses were carried out followed by a cross-case analysis. This resulted in the presentation of a set of validated role constructs, and a theoretical model of the global account manager role. As well as the main findings from the empirical study, the research also produced some additional findings. The research makes a contribution to theory in two main areas: firstly to our theoretical understanding of global account management roles; and secondly, in extending and supporting existing theory on account management. Given the nature of the research topic, there were also implications for practitioners. Finally the limitations of the research and opportunities for further work were explored.