Key accounts’ purchase intentions : a case study about the influence of common values

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MASTER THESIS

Key accounts’ purchase intentions: a case study about the

influence of common values.

Date: 9 November 2009 Supervisor: drs. ing. A.C.J. Meulemans

Author: Nanda C. Pleging, 5691834 Second supervisor: prof. dr. J.H.J.P. Tettero

Master Business Studies, intensive programme University of Amsterdam

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Executive summary

Developing a key account management programme seems to be valuable part of business-to-business relationships. However, in this supplier-customer relationship little research has been done so far into the purchase perspectives of the key account customers. In the literature there is marked research gap in the field of purchase and key accounts, in particular on the topic of the customer-focused perspective of the key account management programme. The aim of this thesis is to start to redress this issue and to provide a contribution to the research regarding the customer-focused perspective at the level of key accounts.

Firstly, different perspectives in the literature about purchasing and key account management and were reviewed and then divided into specific phases. The division of phases was based on the theories of Ojaslo (2001), who defined phases from a key account management

perspective, and also by De Boer et al. (2001) who concentrated on phases within the purchase process. From this, a basic four-phase model was created on the purchase perspectives of key account customers containing the phases: ‘identifying suppliers’, ‘analyzing suppliers’, ‘selecting suppliers’ and ‘the development of mutual goals with the supplier to maintain a favourable long-lasting relationship’. This basic model was developed further into a conceptual model composed of different layers and processes and involving the different variables that influence choices made by key accounts in selecting one supplier over another. The research took the form of a case study and data collected via sixteen in depth interviews with key account customers. Interview questions were formulated to test out the validity of our model and the findings reviewed from different angles firstly into five sectors of industries involving ‘manufacturing industry’, ‘trade’, ‘services’, ‘healthcare’ and

‘hospitals’ and secondly into profit and non-profit making companies.

The results derived from the interviews supported the conceptual model proving it to be valid. None of the predicted variables from the model needed to be removed, only the adjustment of certain aspects and inclusion four additional variables arising in the interviews. From areas not covered by our research and certain limitations of the study, suggestions for future

research arose. The apparent accuracy of the model provides useful information to be utilized by suppliers of Christmas hampers to optimize their key account management programmes.

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1. Introduction

Building relationships is an important area in business markets. Several conceptual

frameworks and integrated models with the mechanisms of the buyer-supplier relationships have been developed (Ulaga & Eggert, 2006, p. 312). Key account management is an

implementation of long-term relationship building (Gosselin & Bouwen, 2006, p. 376; Ivens & Pardo, 2008, p. 304) in which suppliers identify business-to-business customers as key accounts because of their strategic importance (Ojaslo, 2001, p. 201; Ryals & Humphries 2007, p. 312). Customers who are selected by suppliers for their key account management programme receive special attention (Guenzi & Pardo, 2009, p. 300). In practice account management means “not all customers are equal” (Gosselin & Bauwen, 2006, p. 377; Pardo et al., 2006, p. 1361) “different things to different people, in different industries, in different kind of companies and different types of functions” (Gosselin & Bauwen, 2006, p. 377).

Account management can be regarded from a relationship marketing perspective, which is sales-initiated. It can also be viewed from a customer perspective, where it is part of the customer-focused strategy implementation (Gosselin & Bauwen 2006, p. 376). Our research focuses on the latter. Although the importance of key account management from a supplier focused perspective has been recognized over the past decades (Ojaslo, 2001, p. 199), the complexity of purchase decisions from the customers’ perspectives has been increasingly recognized as been of importance over recent times (de Boer et al. 2001). In the literature there is a marked gap in the research into the field of purchase and key accounts, in particular on the topic of the customer-focused perspective of the key account management programme (Flint et al., 2002, p. 103). The combination of the supplier and customer perspectives gives us more detailed and more focused information of the relationship building process between suppliers and their key accounts. The aim of this thesis is to provide a contribution on the research gap that exists regarding the customer-focused perspective, and more specifically at the level of key accounts. The central question of this research is: How to optimize a

supplier’s programme of Christmas hampers from a key accounts’ perspective?

To approach this central question effectively and to understand the topic other aspects must first be addressed. These can be covered by a number of questions: What is a Christmas

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hamper and how is the industry around this set up? What is a key account and what is a key account management programme? What are the common values of key accounts and how does their purchase process run? How can a relationship be developed with a key account customer? What people play a significant role in building the relationship?

To answer these questions we start in chapter 2 by defining the industry of Christmas hampers and the problems that the company Makro, one of the main suppliers in the industry, faces in their attempts to optimize their key account management programme. In chapter 3 different scientific articles are compared and combined for the literature review. These articles explore main topics in the fields of key account management, relationship building and purchase perspectives. The chapter provides important definitions, explains the phases in the

relationship building process of key accounts’ purchasing and goes on with the main variables within these phases. In Chapter 4, the methodology of our research is explained and in

particular, the research strategy, methods of data collection, choices for the research sample, and the research validity and research reliability. The results of our practical findings are explained in chapter 5. Here we establish the differences in purchase processes within the different industries and also between the profit and non-profit section. Finally in the

concluding chapter, using the information derived from our study and findings, the answer to the central question and also the research limitations and opportunities for future research is provided.

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2. Practical review

The aim of this chapter is to give an understanding of the advantages of key account

management for both the supplier and the customer. This chapter starts with an introduction on the Dutch Christmas hamper industry. After a short introduction of the origins of hampers the recent industry is outlined. In this industry Makro has an important role because of its market power and is chosen as main case for this research. In section 2.2 the key account management programme from the suppliers’ perspective is introduced, section 2.3 introduces the customers’ perspective.

2.1 Industry of Dutch Christmas Hampers

In the Netherlands it is traditional for employees to receive a Christmas present from the company they work for, a tradition that finds it origin in the 19th century. In these times it was not so easy to keep food during wintertime. Farmers and landowners would give food and drink to those in their employment and to people who came on the door to wish the family a merry Christmas. On the second day of Christmas the employees that lived in service at the farmers or landowner’s house, could go home to their own family to celebrate Christmas. These employees would receive a basket with all kinds of delicious and useful things for the whole family. This was seen as a gesture of appreciation for the work they did. For this reason in England the second day of Christmas is referred to as Boxing Day. Nowadays a Christmas hamper is usually a box or basket with presents. It usually contains luxury food products with one or more non-food items. An up and coming market in this industry is the ‘internet choice concept’ Christmas present, where employees can choose their own present on the internet (Wikipedia; internet source 1-2). To give an indication most of the Dutch Christmas hampers have a price between fifteen and ninety euros. The average price of a hamper in 2008 was approximately 38 euros (Bizz; and internet sources 3-5). In 2009 the sales of Christmas hampers is expected to be reduced with 10 till 15 percent because of the financial crisis (AD; and internet sources 6-8).

Although companies giving a present at Christmas to their employees as a sign of

appreciation, the purchase of Dutch Christmas hampers should be positioned in a business-to-business environment. The purchase of Christmas hampers is once a year, most of the

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employees receiving their hampers a couple of days or weeks before Christmas. However the purchase of hampers by their employers (the customers) already starts at the beginning of the year, especially the purchase by key accounts.

The number of Christmas hampers sold in 2008 was about 5.2 million, with a turnover of approximately 200 million euros (Platform Promotional Products; and internet sources 3-5). Christmas hampers are not limited to companies because there are no boundaries, so the individual can also put together such packages. The industry has a couple of major companies and although the market shares are not available publicly, Makro gave a presentation of a realistic division of the market shares in 2008 (figure 1). Makro has disposal over these numbers because they are member of the Platform Promotional Products, which has over 300 members in the sector (Makro, PPP; internet sources 9-10). Appendix I contains detailed information about market shares in the industry of the past years.

Figure 1. Industry and market shares (source Makro)

Makro

Makro is a part of the international Metro concern. They have sold and distributed Christmas hampers for over forty years. For nine years the Christmas hamper department at Makro has operated as a separate business unit with the trademark Makro Feestpakketten. Makro

Feestpakketten is the market leader in the industry. For the purpose of this paper we continue Industry and market shares 2008

27% 15% 1% 7% 7% 2% 7% 7% 27% Makro Sligro Deli XL FeyenPak Tintelingen Hanos Jongens Stegman Remaining

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with the name Makro. Although Makro focuses on different moments in a year where

companies have the possibility to give their employees or business relations presents, the core business are ‘traditional’ Christmas hampers. For three years Makro has offered an internet concept where employees are able to choose their own present from a range within a budget set by the employer.

In general most companies have a key account management programme, some have a formal programme, but the maturity of companies have some customer groups that receive special treatment because they are more important than others (Workman et al. 2003, p. 7; Wengler et al. 2006, p. 108). There are different reasons for companies to develop a key account

management programme. Although most of the theories involve the long-term aspect of the relationship, Boles et al. (1999) made a list taken from about 200 useable surveys done on suppliers with a key account management programme. The list is named “most commonly given reasons for starting a national account programme”. The first reason given is increased market share (38 percent of the surveys), the second is change in business strategy (34 percent), the third and fourth reasons were increased customization of product/service and improved relationships with customers (both 26 percent), the fifth reason is marketplace pressures (21 percent), the sixths is winning large clients (20 percent) and then 11 percent is left for other reasons. The reason the total exceeds 100 percent is because the respondents were allowed to provide more than one answer (Boles et al., 1999, p. 269).

For a company develop a key account management programme, also financial advantages are important, some examples of financial advantages are a larger average turnover (Ivens & Pardo, 2008, p. 304), maximization of profits by reducing risk (Madill et al., 2007, p. 242), increasing sales volume (Boles et al., 1999, p. 268) and increasing shareholder value (Ojaslo, 2001, p. 212). Other advantages from the suppliers’ perspective are customer satisfaction, enhancing loyalty and a possible positive effect on the perception of quality (Madill et al., 2007, p. 242).

Makro is developing its key account management programme for the fourth year. With this programme they aim at attracting key customers by offering them special treatment. Personal attention and the development of tailor made products are some of the characteristics of their key account management programme.

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2.2 People involved in the programme

One of the main advantages of key account management is the ability of individuals to build long-term relationships (Millman & Wilson, 1995, p. 10). This has advantages for both the suppliers and their customers. The people that are involved in building these relationships are described in section.

Key account team

Key account teams can be compared with sales teams, except they serve large and complex customers (Hombug et al., 2002, p. 42). Ideally, the entire organization should be involved in the key account management programme (Homburg et al., 2002, p. 56). Experts from

different specialties within the organization should be consulted for solutions to the

customers’ problems. The team is usually supported by members of the production, finance, logistics, and marketing departments. The key account manager should be able to identify these experts calling on their expertise when required (Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 302). Workman et al. researched the extend of involvement of the actors: top management and teams. In contrast of the studies of Homburg et al. (2002, p. 42) and Guenzi et al. (2009, p. 302),

Figure 2. Results of hypothesis testing N=230 (Workman et al., 2003, p. 14)

Workman (et al. 2003, p.9) did not found support for their hypothesis that the use of teams is positive related to key account management effectiveness (figure 2). They define ‘the use of

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teams’ as: “the extend to which teams are formed to coordinate for key accounts”. The involvement of top management has been explained at the end of this section.

Key account manager

Account managers are very important in the key account management programme (Abratt & Kelly, 2002, p. 475) and some authors even state that they are responsible for the success of the programme. The key account manager represents the suppliers’ needs and brings the customer and company together and he or she should be able to build a long lasting relationship with the customer (Ojaslo, 2001, p. 201). Key account managers can have a positive influence on the customer’s perception of trust, by providing solutions to their problems and by attaining good role performance (Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 308).

Although the basic skills of the key account manager are comparable to those of a sales person, the abilities required of the account manager should be much broader (McDonald et al., 1997, p. 748; Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 308). The selection of candidates for this position should be done carefully, because of the preferred skills and attitudes. Specific training programmes should be developed to reinforce the abilities and competencies of the key account manager (Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 309). It is recommended that key account managers possess various qualities and measures of competence.

According to different literary sources, key account managers should be: - Collaborative (team player) (Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 308)

- Innovative (problem solver) (Madill et al., 2007, p. 243; Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 308) - Leaders (captain of the team) (Ivens & Pardo, 2008, p. 308; Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 302) - Customer oriented (Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 308)

- Experts in building relationships (Abratt & Kelly, 2002, p. 468)

- Analytical (have an understanding of key accounts’ main concerns and goals) (Abratt & Kelly, 2002, p. 468; Madill et al., 2007, p. 243)

- Flexible (in meeting changing needs of customers) (Madill et al., 2007, p. 243) - Approachable (Madill et al., 2007, p. 243)

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Executive management

The study carried out by Abratt and Kelly compares the perspectives of customers and

suppliers. They found that customers value the support of executive management perceiving it as very important, where as the suppliers did not (Abratt & Kelly, 2002, p. 474). There is, therefore, a positive relationship between the involvement of the suppliers’ executive

management and the success of key account management (figure 2). Executive management should be committed to the programme (Workman et al., 2003, p. 9). Their involvement is also important for the suppliers’ ability to develop customer knowledge (Campbell, 2003, p. 379).

2.3 Customers

The customer also finds the supplier’s key account management programme to be advantages to them. Certain financial advantages for them are favourable rates and avoidance of

switching costs, other advantages are increased convenience, a higher perceived quality of service, reduced stress (Madill, 2007, p. 242), faster response, having their objectives met, cooperation and continuity (Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 313). In the long term key accounts have lower costs and a better performance, which are also valuable for suppliers (Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 313).

The theoretical definition of the key account customer will be examined further in chapter 4.1. The criteria used by Makro to select customers for their key account management programme is whether that company has two thousand or more employees. This will usually result in the purchase of two thousand or more Christmas hampers.

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3. Literature review

This chapter is divided in three parts. The first part provides explanations of definitions used in the literature which gives understanding of the main perspectives and argumentations. Part two focuses on the process involved in building relationships. Then the final part looks at the variables of key account purchasing.

3.1 Definitions

Key account management

Key account management or the strategy of building long-term relationships with key

customers has been described by various authors. Guenzi et al. (2007, p. 122) describe it as “a way for implementing the selling firm’s relational strategy”. Ojaslo (2001, p. 200) defines it as “an approach adopted by selling companies aimed at building a portfolio of loyal key accounts by offering them, on a continuing basis, a product and service package tailored to their individual needs”. Some writers describe different strategies on the comparable terms of attracting large customers. Gosselin and Heene (2005, p. 190) make a distinction between KAM (key account management) and KAS (key account selling). Ojaslo (2001, p. 200) adds the term NAM (national account management) and explains that there “does not seem to be any real difference between KAM (key account management), NAM (national account management) and SAM (strategic account management)”. An overview of the different definitions of key account management is provided in figure 3.

author year definition of key account management page

Abrat &

Kelly 2002

KAM is one of the more significant marketing trends of the past several decades. It is a strategy used by selling organizations to serve high-potential, multi-location accounts

467

Guenzi

et al. 2007

We briefly describe key account management as a way for implementing the

selling firm's relational strategy. 122

Homburg

et al. 2002

Key account management can be subsumed under the wider context of

personal selling and sales management research. 42

McDonald

et al. 1997

An approach adopted by selling companies aimed at building a portfolio of loyal key accounts by offering them, on a continuing basis, a product/service package tailored to their individual needs.

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Ryals &

Humphries 2007

The management of key account relationships. Key account relationships are those that are both important and complex, often involving customizing products or services and sometimes pricing and distribution methods in the interests of developing collaborative relationships involve costs (investing in customization) and risk (customer and/or supplier power dependence) that make value capture problematic.

313

Workman

et al. 2003

We define key account management (KAM) as the performance of additional activities and/or designation of special personnel directed at an organization’s most important customers.

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Figure 3. Definitions of key account management

This paper combines different approaches to management theories. We define key account management as a special programme developed and recognized by a supplier to build a relationship with both large and strategically important customers, and which is recognized within the suppliers’ company. Customers can be considered to be of strategic importance if they have a good reputation that can be used as a reference, if they have a large valuable network, or if they offer products or services that are valuable to the supplier. In the key account management programme suppliers should be conscious of the different value perspectives that may be embedded into key account management. The activities, processes and resources that suppliers have should be related to the value perspectives that a supplier wants to have. The customers should realize that the suppliers’ value strategy optimises their own position (Pardo et al., 2006, p. 1369).

Key account

Although the previous definition already gives an introduction to the term ‘key accounts’, in this part the definition is expended on in more depth. Key accounts and key account

management are directly related to each other. Key accounts are the (potential) customers of a key account management programme who are, for different reasons, worth special attention or treatment. The (potential) customers are of strategic importance to the supplier (Ojaslo, 2001, p. 201; Ryals & Humphries 2007, p. 312; Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 300). Guenzi et al. give as main reasons for the supplier in selecting a key account as being: “their current and future quantity of purchases, their lead user function and their reputation”. Major accounts are often involved in a key account management programme, where they are treated with special attention (Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 300). A variety of terms to refer to important customers are found through out literature. These are: key accounts, major accounts, large accounts, national

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accounts, strategic accounts, international accounts, corporate accounts and global accounts (Boles et al., 1999, p. 265; Ojaslo, 2001, p. 200; Piercy & Lane, 2006, p 151; Ivens & Pardo, 2008, p. 301). However for the purpose of this paper these different terms will be combined and we will continue with the terms ‘key account’ and ‘key account management’.

Supplier and customer focused perspective

There are always two sides to relationships and therefore two perspectives: key account management these are supplier focused perspectives and customer focused perspectives respectively. With the supplier focused perspective the issues are analysed in favour of the supplier and this perspective is based on the sales side of the supplier. In this case we focus on the business-to-business supplier. On the reverse side is the customer focused perspective, which is the customers’ point of view. This perspective is based on the purchase side of the customer. In this case we also focus on the business-to-business customer.

Again the terminology used in the literature to refer to these perspectives varies. Ojaslo (2001, p. 206) and Abratt and Kelly (2002, p. 469) write about the customer’s view and the

customer’s point of view, the suppliers’ point of view and the suppliers view. Cretu and Brodie (2007, p. 230) write about the customers’ perception and the focus on perceived customer value. Guenzi et al. (2009, p. 302) describe customer and selling orientation and Pardo et al. (2006, p. 1363) describe the key account value perspective. In this paper we will use the terms ‘supplier focused perspective’ and ‘customer focused perspective’.

3.2 Relationship building in phases

The relationship building process from a purchase perspective can be divided into different phases. This section explores the phases of key account management and the purchase relationship building as set out in the literature from which we create a new model for the process of key account purchasing.

3.2.1 Phases of key account management

This paragraph describes the whole process of key account management. Ojaslo (2001, p. 201) outlines four basic elements for successful key account management from a suppliers’

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accounts”, the third “Selecting suitable strategies for key accounts” and the final phase is “Developing operational level capabilities to build, grow, and maintain profitable and long-lasting relationships with key accounts (including implementation and control)” (figure 4). Ojaslo describes here the process from a suppliers’ perspective, but it could also be used to describe the process from a purchase perspective.

Figure 4. Elements of key account management (Ojaslo 2001, p. 202)

3.2.2 Phases of key account purchasing

In the first phase of Ojaslo’s model as shown in figure 3, it is important for the supplier to identify which accounts are of strategic importance both now and in the future. Key indicators to identify this strategic importance are market share, sales volume and profitability (Ojaslo, 2001, p. 202). Ojaslo (2001, p. 202) referred in his study to four customer-specific factors from Krapfel et al., which reflect to the attractiveness of customers. For example the

contribution margin and market substitutability of a good or service, the quantity and critical outputs of buyers, the continuity of a relationship and the costs to start a new relationship, and the measurement of internal economic costs (Ojaslo, 2001, p. 202). The theoretical research of De Boer et al. (2001, p. 80) describes a comparable process to that of Ojaslo (2001) but from a purchase perspective (figure 4). In their process they refer to a first phase of the purchase as “problem definition” where the choice for one decision and the availability of alternatives is defined. In this paper we will refer to the first stage of the purchase perspective as

Developing operational level capabilities to build, grow and maintain profitable and long-lasting relationships with key

accounts (including implication and control)

Identifying key accounts

Analyzing key accounts

Selecting suitable strategies for key accounts KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

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“Identifying suppliers”. The main question of this phase is whether the existing supplier, the supplier of the previous purchase, is automatically chosen for the next phase, or whether customer also identifies new suppliers for the next purchase.

Figure 5. Rough positioning of decision methods in supplier selection (De Boer et al., 2001, p. 79)

Ojaslo (2001, p. 202) refers to the theories of Krapfel et al. and Mc. Donald et al. which result in the analyzing of key accounts on the specific topics: “The basic characteristics of a key account, the relationship history, the level and development of commitment to the relationship, the goal congruence of the parties and the switching costs.” These characteristics form the basics for the second phase described by Ojaslo. De Boer et al. (2001) do not describe their second phase in detail. In effect, in phase two they combine the determining of the problem with the first selection of possible suppliers. We will describe the second phase as “Analyzing suppliers” which mirrors Ojaslo’s “Analyzing key accounts. In this way the five activities mentioned above of Ojaslo (2001, p. 202) mentioned above, could also be important from a purchase perspective.

The third phase of Ojaslo (2001, p. 204) is “Selecting suitable strategies for key accounts”. De Boer et al. (2001) defined this phase as “Decision methods for pre-qualification of suitable suppliers”. In the theory put forward by Ojaslo more key accounts are selected. De Boer et al. allow for a possibility for “multiple-deal” models, in which interdependence among products or product groups is described. Reasons for multiple-deals from a purchase perspective may involve larger discounts, order costs and quality audits (De Boer et al., 2001, p. 81). The third stage we define in this paper is a combination of the third and fourth phases of De Boer et al..

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In the third phase of De Boer et al. a “sorting process rather than a ranking process” is involved, and in their fourth phase the final choice is made. We will define the third phase as “Selection of the main supplier”, comparable with the definition of Ojaslo’s third phase, the main difference is that Ojaslo selects more key accounts and in the model we put forward here we select one supplier.

The fourth phase of developing the relationship is the most important in the whole process. Ojaslo (2001, p. 204) defines this phase as “Developing operational level capabilities to build, grow, and maintain profitable and long-lasting relationships with key accounts (including implementation and control)”. To Ojaslo the development of capabilities and the

improvement of the product and service quality are the two most important factors in building relationships. De Boer et al. (2001) did not research the phase after the final selection of a supplier which is worth mentioning because building long lasting relationships could also be favourable from a purchase perspective, as it creates value for both the customer and the supplier (Ivens & Pardo, 2008, p. 308; Pardo et al., 2006, p. 1361). The definition of our fourth phase is “The development of mutual goals with the supplier to maintain a favourable long-lasting relationship”. The four phases of the model we put forward are outlined in figure 6.

Figure 6. Phases of key account purchasing

Identifying suppliers

Develop mutual goals with the supplier to maintain a favorable long-lasting relationship.

Analyzing suppliers

Selection of main supplier PHASES OF KEY ACCOUNT

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This model is expanded with variables of the next section. Later in our research the model is completed with practical information in the form our document study. We made a final conceptual model chapter 4.3, which is used as framework for the final interviews.

3.3 Main variables of key accounts’ purchasing

Various variables are important in the process of building relationships. This section gives an overview of the variables selected in this case as being valuable in the process. The variables are selected from different scientific literature sources and are expected to be of main

importance from a customer focused and purchase perspective. An overview of the recent empirical research used in this study has been included in appendix II.

3.3.1 Variables in the identifying phase

The variables ‘reputation’, ‘trust’, and ‘referrals’ seem to be of importance in the first phase of the process, identifying suppliers. These variables are described respectively in the following paragraphs.

Reputation

The company reputation or corporate reputation has been described in the literature as the values that meet the firm within its organization standards. Reputation can be influenced by the company following its commitment. In addition the conformation of the stakeholders’ expectations and the connection between overall performance and the social and political environment influence reputation (Cretu & Brodie, 2007, p. 232). If the company should fail to meet the stakeholders’ expectations, risk to reputation occurs.

Christoper and Gaudenzi show reputational risk as “an emerging key factor that leads to stakeholders’ erosion of trust, affecting, relationships and even leading to the collapse of the enterprise” (Christoper & Gaudenzi, 2009, p. 192, 196).

Reputation moves through different phases of the business to business relationship. We expect reputation to be valuable in the phase of identifying suppliers, because it is described in the article of Christopher and Gaudenzi as “a major determinant to start a business relationship, to initiate relationship, to evaluate potential exchange partners, to start negotiations and

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Brodie, the company reputation has a direct influence on the perception ofcustomer value and on customer loyalty (Cretu & Brodie, 2007). Christopher and Gaudenzi noticed a direct influence on the stakeholders in terms of the stability of a relationship and the “emotional attachment”, which they define as a favourability of stakeholders towards the organisation (figure 7).

Figure 7. Linkages between propositions (Christopher & Gaudenzi, 2009, p. 195)

Trust

This variable relates to the purchaser’s trust in the supplier. Trust can exist if the purchaser believes that the supplier is capable of delivering the perceived performance. It therefore foil as that trust could reduce the dement of uncertainty in the relationship and suppliers who keep their promises establish trust (Gao et al., 2005, p. 398). In their empirical study, Rauyruen and Miller (2007, p. 28) found support for their hypothesis that trust in a supplier has a positive effect on attitudinal loyalty. Their study did not support a relationship between trust and purchase intentions. Ryals and Humphries (2007, p. 314) noticed that “trust is cited by key customers as one of the most important elements in supplier selection” they refer to a study of Woodburn and McDonald. Their own results suggest that trust and reliability are closely related. The explanation they give is that many comments from their data collection

concerned “reliability, dependability, consistency and keeping promises” (Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 319). Moliner et al. define different levels of trust. If we use their division on this research, our research focuses on trust on the level of “characteristics of the object of trust”,

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which implies “the valuation of resources, capacities, norms of conduct, values, priorities and behaviour intentions”. Trust can be divided in the two major dimensions of honesty and benevolence. Honesty is “the belief that the supplier will keep its word and that it has the capacity to do so” and benevolence is “the belief that the supplier is interested in the customer’s well-being” (Moliner et al., 2007, p. 1397). Both of these dimensions could influence the purchase perception of relationship building (figure 8).

H4: supported post purchase perceived value, personnel – consumer satisfaction, supplier; product – consumer satisfaction, supplier and product; emotional value – consumer satisfaction, supplier and product. H5

supported post-purchase perceived value, emotional value – consumer satisfaction, product and post-purchase perceived value, social value – consumer satisfaction, supplier and product. H6 supported post-purchase perceived value, social value – consumer’s commitment, cognitive and affective. H3 supported consumer satisfaction, supplier and product – consumer’s trust, honesty and consumer satisfaction with supplier and honesty. H2 supported consumer’s trust, benevolence – consumer’s commitment affective; others are partly supported. H1 supported consumer satisfaction, supplier – consumer’s commitment, affective.

Figure 8. Causal model (Moliner et al., 2007, p. 1401)

Referrals

In industries with a high level of uncertainty recommendations by word-of-mouth seem to be important or even crucial. Customers are more willing to recommend suppliers when the relationship has been of high quality (Huntley, 2006, pp. 712-713). The recommendation of a supplier by their customer has a positive influence on the existing relationship.

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Lacey and Morgan empirically tested the link between commitment and word-of-mouth referrals (figure 9), which they define as “the favourable personal recommendations from one individual to other individual regarding a firm and its products and services”. They found that “committed customers are more likely to engage in positive word-of-mouth referrals” but they do not found evidence “to demonstrate that loyalty program membership positively impacts the relationship between committed customers and their willingness to engage in word-of-mouth referrals” (Lacey & Morgan, 2009, pp. 5-9). Wangenheim and Bayón (2007) also carried out an empirical study into word-of-mouth referrals. They also found that a satisfied customer is more likely to become a word-of-mouth referral. Product involvement, situational involvement and marketplace involvement have a positive influence on the customer to pass on recommendation. Where a supplier has been selected by a customer based on a

recommendation they found that word-of-mouth has a positive marginal effect in new customer acquisition, especially in business-to-business environments. Finally they found “when the switching recommendation is received, expertise and similarity of the sender exhibit a statistically significant effect on the likelihood of switching” (Wangenheim, 2007, pp. 237-245).

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3.3.2 Variables in the analyzing phase

After the initial identifying phase, some of the suppliers are selected for the analysing phase. In this second phase the variables “customer knowledge, generate solutions, ‘prices and costs’ and ‘product and service quality’” seem to be important. They can be described as follows.

Customer knowledge

By customer knowledge, we refer to the suppliers’ knowledge about the customer or

purchasing company. Different empirical studies noticed the importance, in the perception of the customer, of suppliers knowing their customers (Abratt & Kelly, 2002, p. 474; Campbell, 2003, p. 377; Guenzi et al., 2009, p. 307). Campbell (2003) researched the creation and integration of customer knowledge and defines this competence as “the processes that generate and integrate information about specific customers (Campbell, 2003, p. 376). Campbell found that customer knowledge and successful implementation in a customer relationship management system is essential in order for a firm to offer products that comply with the customer’s requirements (Campbell, 2003, p. 382). Furthermore, the findings of Guenzi et al. (2009, p. 308) show that understanding customer’s knowledge is important. They see this as a part of developing synergistic solutions, which also include the possibility and creativity of suppliers to find solutions to the customer’s problems. The orientation on customers has a direct influence on customer trust.

Generate solutions and customization

The generation of a customer’s problems described by Guenzi et al. (2009, p. 308) directly gives access to the next variable of generating solutions. The needs of customers and the possible solutions for it should be analyzed by the supplier. After the analysis the realization of the solutions becomes important. To provide the customer with a solution, different ranges of products should be available. For each individual customer a different strategy should be offered (Zupancic, 2008, p. 326). In the study of Lian and Laing customization is also recognized as an important variable in meeting customers’ needs. They researched service companies and state that: “The ability to customize and make relationship-specific

investments is vital to the formation of a long term relationship”. In their final model the customization of service has a direct influence on the satisfaction of customers (Lian & Laing, 2007, p. 714-715).

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Prices and costs

Paragraph 2.3 shows that one of the advantages of key account management is the reduction of costs (Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 313). In this paragraph we combine the costs with the product prices. Prices and costs have a direct impact on customer value (Cretu & Brodie, 2007, p. 236). Figure 10 gives an overview of how prices and costs could result in customer value and after that in customer loyalty. Product and service quality are significant at a higher p-value. In the next section these variables are defined.

Figure 10. Standardized estimates and t-values (Cretu & Brodie, 2007, p. 236)

The study of Bolton et al. is also about prices. They refer to the reference price which is the price given by competitors for the same products or comparable products. For example a company could request for different quotations of the suppliers. Whereas, the reference prices, influences the customer’s decision in purchasing the goods (Bolton et al., 2008, p. 51). The level of service quality could also influence the customer’s price sensitivity. For example a higher level of service results in a customer being less price sensitive, whereas a lower level of service results in a customer being more price sensitive. This hypothesis is supported empirically in a study by Bolton et al. (2008, p. 58-60).

Product and service quality

The customer’s perception of service quality has a direct effect on purchase intention. Rauyruen and Miller argue that a high perception of the quality of a service is crucial for a customer to make future purchases (Rauyruen & Miller, 2007, p. 28). Similarly, as already mentioned in the previous section Cretu and Brodie researched a positive relationship

* Significant at p < 0.10 ** Significant at p < 0.01

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between perceived quality and customer value. They combined product quality and service quality and conceptualized it as the quality that meets the needs of the customer. A low price and acceptable quality could also meet the customer’s needs (Cretu & Brodie, 2007, p. 235).

3.3.3 Variables in the selection phase

After analysing the selected suppliers, one main supplier is chosen. This phase is be important, because it might also influence customers choice for the supplier of the following year. As expected the variables ‘flexibility’, ‘reliability’ and ‘risk’ are important in this phase. These variables can be defined as follows.

Flexibility

Flexibility can be divided in two different ways. The first is the ability of an account manager to give a fast response which can benefit suppliers and customers (Madill et al., 2007, p. 246; Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 314). This dimension of flexibility is related to activities such as customization. Another dimension of flexibility is the willingness of a partner to anticipate changes in the contractual environment when the other partner faces an unanticipated crisis (Kothandaraman & Wilson, 2000, p. 345). In that case, flexibility can be seen as an external factor (from the suppliers’ perception) that influences the outcome of relationship

performance (figure 11).

Figure 11. A model of the effects of intra-organizational factors on the inter-organizational factors leading to relationship performance (Kothandaraman & Wilson, 2000, p. 343)

Internal Factors

Alignment with Relationship Paradigm  Attitude toward cooperation

 Attitude toward trust

 Attitude toward interdependence

External Factors Relational Behavior  Flexibility  Information Exchange  Solidarity Internal Moderators  Resource dependence  Domain similarity  Reward structure External Moderator  Dependence structure  Transaction Specific Investment Outcome  Relationship performance

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Reliability

Reliability too, could be interpreted equivocal. Ryals and Humphries concentrate on reliability within the supply chain. They define reliability as a way of efficient production, which can create an expansion of value activities, and waste because of, for example, over production is being reduced. Reliability from this perspective mainly concentrates on “service and product delivery, reducing joint costs and risk, and building trust” (Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 315). Madill et al. (2007) concentrate on reliability of persons in a company. They found that the strongest correlation of reliability, flexibility and resourcefulness was with overall satisfaction. The small and medium enterprise customers they researched valued flexibility and reliability as a “desirable trait for account managers” (Madill et al., 2007, p. 247).

3.3.3 Variables in the relationship phase

Central to the phase of building relationships is the development of mutual goals with the supplier to maintain a favorable long-lasting relationship. To build a relationship, overall satisfaction seems to be of main importance. For the relationship to become long-lasting, the factors: dependence, stability, win-win and commitment seem to be important. These

variables are defined below.

Satisfaction

Satisfaction has been researched in various empirical and scientific studies. Bolton et al. (2008) refer to the study of Oliver (1997) and suggest “customer satisfaction with prior service experience has a positive effect on the length, breadth, and depth of the customer-firm relationship”. In their empirical research they found that satisfaction has a positive effect on the customers’ upgrade decision of an existing contract. Satisfaction was also found as a moderator for the perception of business to business service (Bolton et al., 2008, pp. 50-51). This combination seems to be interesting, because Rauyruen and Miller (2007, p. 28) also found from their various set of relationship quality variables, that only overall satisfaction and the perception of service quality seems to influence purchase intentions. The other variables that, within their study, did not seem to influence the purchase variables were: trust in employees, trust in supplier, calculative commitment to supplier, affective commitment to supplier, calculative commitment to employees and affective commitment to employees (Rauyruen & Miller, 2007, p. 25-26). In the research carried out by Lian and Laing, into the

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process of building relationships it was shown that satisfaction could be reached directly with social relationships. Professional relationships are not likely to have a direct influence on satisfaction. However, the influence of the factors communication, co-ordination of activities and customization of service could effect satisfaction in professional relationships (Lian & Laing, 2007, p. 714). The overall satisfaction of the customer seems to have a positive effect on the selection of an existing supplier in a new purchase process or involvement in the possibility of providing solutions to new problem areas (Lian and Laing, 2007, p. 715; Madill et al., 2007, p. 242).

Commitment

Abratt and Kelly (2002, p. 475) recommend suppliers to “develop a culture of customer commitment and satisfaction”. The understanding of customers’ needs and their expectations of suppliers should help to improve the key account management programme (Abrat & Kelly, 2002, p. 475). Ulaga and Eggert (2006, p. 321) found a positive effect between commitment and the intention of a customer to expand business; furthermore, commitment reduced the intention of a customer to leave their supplier (figure 12).

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Moliner et al. (2007)divide commitment into a cognitive and affective dimension. The affective dimension “makes reference to courtesy, to feeling at ease and to loyalty to the supplier”, while the cognitive dimension refers to “the effort involved in changing supplier and to non-existence of other alternatives”. In their study, the social value of the post-purchase affects both of the dimensions of the consumer’s commitment. Furthermore, only the affective dimension of commitment influences the benevolence of customer trust and the satisfaction with the supplier (Moliner et al., 2007, pp. 1411 – 1412). Rauyruen and Miller found evidence for a relationship between affective commitment with the supplier and

attitudinal loyalty. They did not find support for the hypothesis that “affective commitment to the supplier relates positively to behavioural loyalty (purchase intentions)” (Rauyruen & Miller, 2007).

Dependence

The dependence of a customer refers to the dependence of a customer on a particular supplier and is related to the availability of alternatives in the market. When the supplier has close contact with their customer, the dependence increases. “Low dependence warrant neither time nor effort for close interactions. In contrast, high and mutual dependency relationships usually involve extensive personal interactions, information exchange, and resource integration” (Gao et al, 2005, p. 399). According to the study of Gao et al. (2005, p. 399) the customers’

perception of the dependence of their supplier has a positive effect on the customers’ trust. This hypothesis was supported later in their research results. The supplier dependence on key accounts is higher than with normal accounts (Piercy & Lane, 2006, p. 152; Ivens & Pardo, 2008, p. 307). One disadvantage of dependence to be found on the supplier’s side, where a few customers provide a considerable amount of turnover, which could impede the strategic freedom of the supplier (Piercy & Lane, 2006, p. 153).

Relationships are sometimes formalized into long-term contracts and they sometimes result in partnerships (Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 314). Long term relationship could establish stability for both the supplier and the customer. However, a win-win situation might get an advantage (Huntley, 2006, p. 713; Ryals & Humphries, 2007, p. 316), in the short term win-lose scenarios could also be preferable (Cox, 2004, p. 419).

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4. Methodology

The first three chapters of this paper have focused on the management problem, background information, the topic of phases and variables, and the central question of this research namely the optimizing of a suppliers programme of Christmas hampers from a key accounts perspective. This chapter now describes the process from theory to advice. In this chapter the strategic choices of the practical research are explained, elaborated and defined.

4.1 Research strategy

The type of research that we have used to answer the central question is a case study. Eisenhardt’s description of a case study is “a research strategy which focuses on

understanding the dynamics present within single settings” (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 534). This research focuses on the dynamics of key account management from the perspective of key accounts. It uses the Dutch Christmas hamper industry as the main field of research with the market leader Makro selected as the main focus for the case. The choice for a case study can also be deemed appropriate because of its suitability for management research. It combines business practice with science (Blumberg et al., 2005, p. 190), and different sources of evidence can be brought together in the case study (p. 193). It is this combination of science and practice that provides the answer to the central question and with its theoretical and managerial implications.

Based on the research problem and the central question, the purpose of this research is to advise Makro on the optimization of their key account management programme. This advice is based on a customer-focused perspective and can also be used by other suppliers of

Chistmas hampers. An open method of data collection is necessary in case studies (Hutjes & Van Buuren, 2007, p. 33). In addition, an open-minded vision about the possible variables is required otherwise those variables that play a significant role in the purchase process could be excluded.

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4.2 Data collection

This research combines data and evidence from three different sources. Hutjes and Van Buuren (2007, p. 97) and Yin (2009, p. 117) describe the use of different sources as data triangulation. The first source of evidence used here is the theory which is published in scientific articles. For this research we referred in our literature review to 35 recently published articles. A complete overview of the relevance of each article can be seen in a diagram divided into several topics in appendix II. The second source of evidence is the use of documents. More detailed information about this subject is given in the next section. The theoretical information provided by our first source together with the practical information from the second, are then combined into a conceptual model which is then used as a basis for the creation of the third source, the interviews. The formulation and relevance of the interview questions is described in more detail in section 4.4.1.

Document study

The method of document research has three major advantages (Hutjes & Van Buuren, 2007, pp. 80-81). The first advantage of the use of documents is the availability of information which is normally not available to researchers. In our research the business plans of Makro are not available for external research purposes. The second advantage is the objective

perception that can be attained using documents because they have not been developed for the purposes of a case study. In our research, presentations and business plans gave insights into the possible variables that are valuable in the purchase process. Finally, the third advantage of a document study is the fact that you can obtain a large amount of information in a short period of time which can then be used in the preparation for the interviews. A possible disadvantage of a document study is that it might cause the researcher to become biased (Hutjes & Van Buuren, 2007, p. 81).

For this research, a variety of different documents have been studied. These documents give information about Makro’s perspective on the management problem. In this study, the possible variables which influence the problem are covered in the specific formulation of the interview questions. The documents studied for this research are as follows:

 Presentation kick-off 2009 (Makro, evaluation of 2008 and forecast 2009)  Sales plan account management 2009 (Makro)

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 Two rejected complete offers (several customers)  Two accepted complete offers (several customers)  Two accompanying orders (to accepted offers)

The briefings, proposals and orders give a detailed description of possible flows within the phases of the purchase process, which is not found in theoretical articles. These flows are combined with phases and variables in our conceptual model.

4.3 Research concept

The conceptual model which has been created is composed of different layers and processes (figure 13). The four phases are coloured from light blue down to dark blue. The first phase begins at the point where the customer decides to define the ‘problem’ of what they would like to give their company employees at Christmas. In the last phase, at the end of the whole process, the employees receive their hamper. Possible damages and problems with the hamper and its individual presents need to be solved by the company and supplier.

Figure 13. Conceptual Model

4. Relationship building 3. Suppliers selection 2. Analyzing suppliers 1. Identifying suppliers + - + - - + + + L eve l of r el at ions hi p Process in time

DEVELOPING BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS FROM A PURCHASE PERSPECTIVE

B. Offer rejected A. Formalrelationship Dependence Win-win, stability C. End of (short-term) relationship B. Supplier rejected A. Supplier selected Generate solutions, Service & quality Price & costs Customer knowledge High Low Start Finish A. Offer accepted Reliability

Flexibility B. Informal relationship

Overall satisfaction B. New suppliers Reputation, trust, referrals A. Existing supplier Overall satisfaction previous year

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Although a relationship generally lasts for several years, for the purposes of this research we will start with the time period of just one year and also where a customer involves several suppliers in their purchase process.

The level of the relationship between the customer and the supplier can be described as ‘high’ or ‘low’. In a high-level relationship the customer and supplier already have positive

experience with each other which is, at the highest possible level of our research, formalized in a contract of several years (figure 13, 4A). In contrast, the lowest level of relationship building is probably related to a negative experience on the customer’s side (figure 13,4C). A low-level relationship can also instigate the introduction of new suppliers where neither party experienced the others possibilities (figure 13,1B). The conceptual model is used to design the interview questions. We will now explain the choices we made on the interview topic.

4.4 Interview method

Interviews are essential in case studies (Yin, 2009, p. 107). For this research we have chosen for focus interviews which are structured interviews. The main objective of a semi-structured interview is the respondent’s perspective on the issue and the confirmation of the information that the researcher already knows (Bloomberg et al., 2005, p. 193).

The interviews are carried out by one person who knows neither the companies nor the respondents personally. Eisenhardt indicates that investigators may bring different and more objective evidence if they have not met the informants and if they are not immersed in case details (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 538). The researcher here is experienced in the industry which could be a threat so the researcher should be aware of the importance of remaining objective and open-minded in each interview.

The interviews carried out are personal (face-to-face). The value of personal interviewing is the in-depth and detail of information that can be secured (Bloomberg et al., 2005, p. 248). In our research each interview is recorded on tape. These tapes are used for the preparation of the summaries, which are included in our separate research document. Every respondent is given the opportunity to check the summary of their own interview before it is used. Some respondents made small changes or additions to their summary and all the respondents gave a positive feedback on using the summaries in the separate research report. The final versions of

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the respondents’ summaries are used in the report and were also utilised for clustering the interviews per sector of industry. The process of sending interview notes to respondents is a method of validating the qualitative research data (Miles & Huberman, 1994).

4.4.1 Interview questions

The interview questions are related to a number of factors namely the phases in the conceptual model, the people involved in the purchase process, the capabilities required of suppliers, and the variables involved in each phase of the process. For each of the four phases, different variables seem to be important. In the next part of this section the way in which these factors are reflected in the formulation of the interview questions will be described. It should be noted that in this part only the main questions from the interview are addressed, as laid out in the Research Protocol (appendix III). In the appendix these questions are printed in bold type and the additional questions beneath are optional to maintain the flow of the interview or elicit more information.

Phases

Identifying suppliers. In the first phase of the purchase process the potential suppliers are identified by the consumer to solve their needs or problems (in this case the customers’ requirements are Christmas hampers). The initial question in the first part of the interview covers the start of the process in finding a solution to the possible problem or the customer needs. The question is: “How and when does your company start with the purchase of the next year’s Christmas hampers?”

The identification of possible suppliers could consist of existing suppliers (figure 13, 1A) and new suppliers (figure 13, 1B). The suppliers with whom the customer has done business over previous years have already built a higher level of relationship and could have an advantage over new suppliers.

The variables in the first phase of the model are covered in different questions during the interview. In the first part of the interview, which is called ‘phases of purchase’, the question posed is “Which conditions does the supplier need to satisfy to get through the identification phase?” referring to the variables and predicted answers of ‘satisfaction from previous year’, ‘reputation’, ‘trust’, and ‘referrals’. Later in the fourth part of the interview, which is called

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‘selected variables’, the first two questions here also cover these variables out of the first phase of the model: “To what extent does the reputation of a supplier influence you?” (reputation) and “Why are you, or are you not, interested in the referrals to the supplier?” (referrals). These questions provide a better insight into the importance of the four variables mentioned above and the period in which when they are perceived to be of importance by the respondent.

Analyzing suppliers. In the second phase of the purchase process, the suppliers are selected for more information. A supplier could be selected (figure 13, 2A) or rejected (figure 13, 2B) as being a potential choice for making a proposal, which is of importance to the third phase. The first question regarding this phase is: “What is the next step?” with the posed question “Do you first ask for general information on the suppliers, or do you ask directly for a

proposal?” This could be expanded on with the question: “Why would you reject a supplier?” The final question: “Is the supplier of the previous year automatically selected for a new offer?” is asked in this open way so that respondents can interpret it in their own way. An example of this could be whether suppliers are selected directly to make a proposal, or whether they are involved in a later or further stage.

The questions in the interview that cover the variables in this phase are: “What should a supplier know about your company?” the variables and possible answers being ‘customer knowledge’ and ‘generating of solutions’. Also, the fourth question of the section ‘selected variables’ “Which specific requirements does the Christmas hamper needs to have?”

incorporates the variables and predicted answers of ‘service and quality’ and ‘price and costs’.

Supplier selection. After the second phase in which the proposal is made, in the third phase the proposal will be accepted (figure 13, 3A) or rejected (figure 13, 3B). The main question in this phase is: “Why do you decide to choose for one supplier or another one?” In the theory we found that the variables ‘flexibility’ and ‘reliability’ become important. These variables are incorporated in the questions: “In which circumstances would you expect your supplier to be flexible?” and “How important is reliability? Could you give an example?”

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For the both the second and third phases a control question is used to emphasize the differences between the selection of the possible suppliers and the selection of the final supplier: “In which way do the first and second selection methods differ from each other?”

Relationship building. Once an order has been accepted this is automatically the start of a relationship. If the customer notices negative influences it will probably result in the end of a short-term relationship (figure 13, 4C). In contrast, positive influences could result in an informal (figure 13, 4B) or even a formal (figure 13, 4A) relationship. The first two questions concerning the fourth phase of the model “What is important for you after you have placed the order?” and “How should a supplier act in order to secure you as a customer for the following year?” try to find out more detailed information about the relationship. The final question is related to the formalizing of a relationship “Why should or should you not be interested to formalize your relationship in a contract for several years?”

4.4.2 People involved in the purchase process

The previous questions all relate to the buying process over a period of time. However, it is also the people who are involved in the purchase process, as described in chapter two, that make important and valuable contributions during the various phases. From the customers’ side it is not only the people who make the decisions and those authorized finalize the agreement who are of value, but also the people that could influence the choice for the final hamper or supplier. In the previous section regarding the different ‘phases’ the questions concerning the first phase and third phase are also related to the people involved in the purchase process: “Who makes the selection of the most potential suppliers?” and “Who makes the final choice of the supplier?” We try to figure out the customer’s perception about the involved people on supplier’s side in three questions; these questions are related to the communication between the involved people of the supplier who have contact with the involved people of the customer “What do you rate as important in the communication with your supplier?”, “Do you expect the board of the supplier’s company to be involved in your purchase?” and “What do you expect from an account manager?”

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4.4.3 Suppliers’ needs and capabilities

In the section “supplier information” we want to identify which of a suppliers’ capabilities are of importance to customer. Which suppliers does the customer know and what makes their relationship with one or more suppliers special. The question “Which three suppliers of Christmas hampers do you know?” gives an indication of the strongest suppliers that serve key accounts in the industry. To obtain more detailed information about the strong elements in the relationship, two further questions are added. The first is: “What makes you think that you are regarded as a special target group by your recent supplier?” and the second question is: “What do you think is a strong quality in your supplier on the level of relationship building?” The last couple of questions on the subject of ‘supplier information’ concern ‘loyalty’ and ‘reciprocity’. Loyalty gives an impression of the strength of the relationship and could be measured by asking: “How often have you bought Christmas hampers at this supplier over the last five years?” Reciprocity gives global information about mutual goals of the customer and supplier, and probably has an influence on the relationship. This is incorporated in the

questions: “What besides Christmas hampers do you buy from your Christmas hamper supplier?” and “Does the supplier support your company?”

4.4.4 Additional variables

Finally, three questions are added to encourage the respondent to give possible remaining variables that have not been covered in this research. The first two questions are posed in part three of the interview “What makes you think that you are regarded as a special target group by your recent supplier?” and ”What do you think is a strong quality in your supplier on the level of relationship building?” The third question is the closing question to the interview “Is there anything you would like to add to or emphasize in this interview?” These also give the respondent an opportunity to add important things that have not been covered by the interview.

In addition to the interview protocol, a separate report is given on the practical research. This report explains the changes in the interview questions over time. It gives an extensive

representation of the choices made regarding the separate interviews and the overall practical research.

Key accounts’ purchase intentions : a case study about the influence of common values

MASTER THESIS