Within-Seller and Buyer–Seller Network Structures and Key Account Profitability

Gupta, A; Kumar, A; Grewal, R; Lilien, GL

Within-Seller and Buyer–Seller Network Structures and Key Account Profitability

Gupta, A Kumar, A Grewal, R Lilien, GL

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Marketing, 2019, 83 (1), pp. 108 - 132
Issue Date:: 2019-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Gupta, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kumar, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Grewal, R	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lilien, GL https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7314-1128	en_US
dc.date.available	2018-08-23	en_US
dc.date.issued	2019-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Marketing, 2019, 83 (1), pp. 108 - 132	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0022-2429	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/139119
dc.description.abstract	© American Marketing Association 2018. In business-to-business (B2B) markets, the success of key account management (KAM) teams depends on how they are structured and how they handle customer relationships. The authors conceptualize relationships among selling team members as a within-seller (intrafirm) network and the relationships between selling team members and buyer representatives as a buyer–seller (interfirm) network. Drawing on both structural (buyer–seller density, within-seller density, and within-seller centralization) and functional (buyer–seller similar function ties and within-seller cross-functional ties) composition attributes of these networks, the authors examine how the interplay between these networks drives seller account profitability. Using data from 207 key account managers across B2B industries, the authors uncover a nuanced pattern of interplay across the two networks. Densities in the two networks are mutually substitutive, but density in the buyer–seller networks and centralization in the within-seller networks serve complementary roles. Cross-function ties in the within-seller network serve a complementary role too, but only in relation to similar function ties in the buyer–seller network. In contrast, within-seller centralization supports both network density and similar function ties in the buyer–seller network and, thus, emerges as a valuable KAM team characteristic. These findings suggest multiple ways for firms to align interfirm and intrafirm KAM networks to improve account profitability.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Marketing	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/0022242918812056	en_US
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject.classification	Marketing	en_US
dc.title	Within-Seller and Buyer–Seller Network Structures and Key Account Profitability	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	83	en_US
utslib.for	1505 Marketing	en_US
utslib.for	1506 Tourism	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business/Marketing Discipline
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	83	en_US

Abstract:

© American Marketing Association 2018. In business-to-business (B2B) markets, the success of key account management (KAM) teams depends on how they are structured and how they handle customer relationships. The authors conceptualize relationships among selling team members as a within-seller (intrafirm) network and the relationships between selling team members and buyer representatives as a buyer–seller (interfirm) network. Drawing on both structural (buyer–seller density, within-seller density, and within-seller centralization) and functional (buyer–seller similar function ties and within-seller cross-functional ties) composition attributes of these networks, the authors examine how the interplay between these networks drives seller account profitability. Using data from 207 key account managers across B2B industries, the authors uncover a nuanced pattern of interplay across the two networks. Densities in the two networks are mutually substitutive, but density in the buyer–seller networks and centralization in the within-seller networks serve complementary roles. Cross-function ties in the within-seller network serve a complementary role too, but only in relation to similar function ties in the buyer–seller network. In contrast, within-seller centralization supports both network density and similar function ties in the buyer–seller network and, thus, emerges as a valuable KAM team characteristic. These findings suggest multiple ways for firms to align interfirm and intrafirm KAM networks to improve account profitability.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/139119