Determinants of Key Account Management Effectiveness: The Case of Ethio Telecom

Abstract

Key account management (KAM) is one of the contemporary ways of
maintaining enhanced relationships with strategic business customers named as
‘key accounts’. It helps to build a strategic relationship particularly in businessto-
business marketing. But ‘what factors determine KAM effectiveness’ is not
much investigated. So, this study aims to address the determinants of key
account management effectiveness in the context of Ethio Telecom. A
conceptual model of factors that affect KAM effectiveness was developed and
hypothesized. The hypotheses were tested with data collected from key account
department of Ethio Telecom using structural equation modeling. The findings
of this study show that from the postulated seven determinants of KAM
effectiveness (strategy, solution, people, management, screening, government,
and culture), the three (solution, management, and screening) were found
significant determinants. The scope of the study is limited to a single telecom
operator company in Ethiopia and analyzed from the perspective of the supplier.
The findings provide the empirical application of the KAM model theorized by
Zupancic (2008) by incorporating two additional external factors proposed to
determine KAM effectiveness. The study contributes to the improvement of
KAM implementation in Ethio Telecom particularly.