University of Bamberg
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Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics, and Business Administration

Chair of Sales & Marketing

  1.  University of bamberg
  2. Faculties
  3. Social Sciences, Economics and Business Administration
  4. Subjects and Institutes
  5. Business Administration
  6. Chairs
  7. Chair of Sales & Marketing
  8. Research
  9. Publications
  10. Key Account Management Network

Key Account Management Network

The European Network for Key Account Management at the Chair of Sales and Marketing focuses on the successful design and implementation of key account management, global account management and related concepts for managing strategically important customer relationships.

For many years, the Chair has cooperated in this research field with partner universities as well as with large and medium-sized companies. The aim is to develop academically grounded knowledge and make it useful for research, teaching and practice.

Research and Know-how

The network’s know-how is developed through qualitative and quantitative studies, academically grounded surveys, company-based research projects and doctoral research. The focus is on the organization, management and further development of strategic customer relationships.

Research findings are shared at international conferences, in academic journals, in university courses, MBA programs, workshops and seminars with practice partners.

Publications

The network’s publications address key topics in key account management, sales management and price management. These include the selection and management of strategically important customers, the role of key account managers, internal KAM networks, KAM as an organizational capability, and questions of implementation, integration and governance.

Selected recent and foundational publications:

  • Peters, L., Ivens, B.S., Pardo, C. (2022): Key account managers' identification profiles and effectiveness.
  • Feste, J., Ivens, B.S., Pardo, C. (2022): Key Account Management Formalization and Effectiveness.
  • Herhausen, D.B., Ivens, B.S., Spencer, R., Weiber, M. (2022): Key account management configurations and their effectiveness.
  • Feste, J., Ivens, B.S., Pardo, C. (2020): Key account selection as a political process.
  • Peters, L., Ivens, B.S., Pardo, C. (2020): Identification as a challenge in key account management.
  • Ivens, B.S., Pardo, C., Leischnig, A., Niersbach, B. (2018): Key account management as a firm capability.
  • Leischnig, A., Ivens, B.S., Niersbach, B., Pardo, C. (2017): Mind the Gap: A Process Model for Diagnosing Barriers to Key Account Management Implementation.
  • Ivens, B.S., Pardo, C., Niersbach, B., Leischnig, A. (2016): Firm-internal key account management networks.

Doctoral Research

Several doctoral projects on key account management have emerged from the network. They focus, among other topics, on internal KAM activities, intercultural face-to-face interaction, digital transformation in key account management and identity work in KAM.

Completed doctoral projects:

  • Niersbach, Barbara (2016): The internal key account management activities of supplier firms.
  • Drahmann, Lisa (2018): Relationship Management und Face-to-Face Interaktion im Key Account Management im interkulturellen Vergleich.
  • Schunke, Martin (2019): Veränderung des Key Account Managements durch die Digitalisierung.
  • Schmid, Nikolaij (2023): Identitätsarbeit im Key Account Management.

Ongoing doctoral projects include those of Jasmin Feste and Nayan Kadam.

Partners

The network is based on cooperation with researchers from various European universities and business schools as well as with practice partners from companies.

  • Prof. Dr. Björn Ivens, University of Bamberg
  • Prof. Dr. Alexander Leischnig, TU Bergakademie Freiberg
  • Prof. Dr. Barbara Niersbach, Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences
  • Prof. Dr. Catherine Pardo, EM Lyon Business School