Authors: Akihito Iwasaki; Nick Ellis
Much of the prior B2B marketing literature on global (key) account management (GAM) has investigated only Western firms. This research is possibly the first empirical research on GAM in a Japanese company. The objectives of this paper are four-fold: to investigate the relevance to managerial practice of the concepts and normative frameworks contained in existing KAM and GAM literature to see how much light is shed by this body of work on the challenges facing Japanese B2B firms adopting a GAM approach to explore what specific GAM-related issues are faced by key account managers working for an MNC based in Japan, and to make recommendations for GAM practice and for further research. Following a critical literature review, an exploratory case study is conducted of a multinational chemical supplier in Japan that claims to be making a transition from traditional sales management approaches towards GAM. Data is predominantly collected by semi-structured interviews with 21 key account managers. Analysis of prior studies and the current case facilitates several theoretical contributions. First, Japanese firms encounter some unique challenges in implementing a GAM approach that are not addressed by extant nostrums in the Western-focussed literature. Second, while inter-organizational factors affect GAM adoption and implementation by Japanese firms, it is intra-organizational issues that appear to be more salient for managers. Third, several factors affecting sense making regarding GAM stem from the Japanese business context, such as limited exposure to knowledge, a lack of cultural sensitivity, low levels of operational commitment from senior executives, and a task-orientated approach to B2B relationships (iv) this sense making in turn seems to result in decisions not to make significant operational changes, indicating a low level of GAM orientation in Japanese firms. The study confirms the view of some scholars that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ strategic pathway to implementing GAM and, in particular, shows that Western theoretical perspectives on KAM/GAM have not permeated the sense making of most Japanese key account managers. Findings also suggest a number of practical implications for Japanese supplier MNCs, as well as recommendations for further research that engage more closely with managing change in business networks
Journal: ( – )
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Publish Year: 2016
Conference: Cape Town (2016)