Key account manager's internal selling role : an exploration of interpersonal conflict

摘要

Acting in a boundary spanning role within their organisations, the key accountmanager in representing their customers’ needs internally is required to manage a widerange of complex internal relationships. This can often lead to incidents of conflictbetween the key account manager and other individuals or groups of individuals withinthe organisation in non-sales functions. Using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT),(Flanagan, 1954) together with an interpretive framework for data coding (Spiggle,1994), this research investigates conflict and the key account manager’s internalselling role. This research also explores how the key account manager perceives intraorganisational,interpersonal conflicts and investigates the complex behaviouralsequences adopted to manage them. In doing so this research addresses some of theshortcomings of the traditional view of the nature of organisational conflict and how itis managed while extending our understanding of the key account manager’s internalselling role.In contrast to the majority of research into personal selling, this research takesan interpretive approach through the analysis of transcripts from a series of CITinterviews with key account managers in the field. Twenty-nine key account managersfrom seven participating FMCG, Blue Chip organisations in the U.K. and U.S.participated in the research. From the CIT interviews conducted, 112 critical incidentswere described with both positive and negative outcomes.This research provides further insight into the complexity of conflict, suggestingconflict is inherent within the key account management internal selling role, thatincidents of conflict do not occur in isolation, that these conflict episodes are complex,having multiple components and that a combination of behaviours can be used in theirmanagement. In addressing these issues in the key account management context, thisresearch further develops our knowledge of personal selling and the key accountmanager’s internal selling role by providing an analysis of the recollections of howconflict is perceived and managed by the key account managers involved.