Understanding key account management

This document is presented in three parts, i.e. Part 1, ‘The context of ‘Understanding Key Account Management’, positions the portfolio of work in terms of its contribution to knowledge within the literature of Key Account Management and its underlying theories, and relative to alternative research methodologies: Part 2: ‘Understanding Key Account Management’, starting on page 31, gives an account of the author’s research and knowledge development activities in Key Account Management in chronological order, to link together the material submitted as the portfolio of work (listed below). Each part has its own separate list of contents and references. The portfolio of work forms Part 3 of the document, but only the research reports from 2006-2009 are included here: the other reports, articles and books are not available electronically or are published with copyright restrictions

Innovation Initiatives in Large Software Companies: A Systematic Mapping Study

To keep the competitive advantage and adapt to changes in the market and technology, companies need to innovate in an organised, purposeful and systematic manner. However, due to their size and complexity, large companies tend to focus on maintaining their business, which can potentially lower their agility to innovate. This study aims to provide an overview of the current research on innovation initiatives and to identify the challenges of implementing the initiatives in the context of large software companies. The investigation was performed using a systematic mapping approach of published literature on corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. Then it was complemented with interviews with four experts with rich industry experience. Our study results suggest that, there is a lack of high quality empirical studies on innovation initiative in the context of large software companies. A total of 7 studies are conducted in such context, which reported 5 types of initiatives: intrapreneurship, bootlegging, internal venture, spin-off and crowdsourcing. Our study offers three contributions. First, this paper represents the map of existing literature on innovation initiatives inside large companies. The second contribution is to provide an innovation initiative tree. The third contribution is to identify key challenges faced by each initiative in large software companies. At the strategic and tactical levels, there is no difference between large software companies and other companies. At the operational level, large software companies are highly influenced by the advancement of Internet technology. Large software companies use open innovation paradigm as part of their innovation initiatives. We envision a future work is to further empirically evaluate the innovation initiative tree in large software companies, which involves more practitioners from different companies

Future bus transport contracts under mobility as a service regime in the digital age: are they likely to change?

The digital age has opened up new opportunities to improve the customer experience in using public transport. Specifically, we see the role of smart technology in the hands of customers as the new rubric to deliver services that are individualised to the needs and preferences of current and future public transport users. This frontline of service delivery has become known as mobility as a service whereby an individual can book a service delivered through a range of possible modes of transport. At one extreme we have point-to-point car based services such as Uber, Lyft, BlaBla Car and RydHero (for children), with futuristic suggestions of these gravitating to driverless vehicles. Variations around this future are bus-based options that include smart bookable ‘point-via-point-to-point’ services that offer up options on travel times and fares (with the extreme converting to the point-to-point car service, possible also operated by a bus business); as well as the continuation of conventional bus services (with larger buses) where the market for smart mobility as a service is difficult or inappropriate to provide (e.g., contracted. school bus services). This paper lays out a number of scenarios that could represent future contexts in which bus services might be offered, recognising that a hybrid multi-modal state of affairs may be the most appealing new contract setting, enabling the design of contracts to be driven by the customer experience and the growing opportunity to focus on mobility as a service. We suggest that the adrenal rush for mobility services, however, may not deliver the full solution that supporters are suggesting

Information System Strategic Planning in IS / IT Service Provider

Information System should be an enabler for the business, enabling the company to innovate, persist and evolve in trying to fulfill customer needs. This research is a case study about planning of strategic information system at one of the national IS/IT solution and product provider. Using the methodology developed by Ward and Peppard, this study investigates the urgent and necessary IS for future development and future needs, with data collected directly or indirectly in the form of primary and secondary data. Based on the results of the research, the company can develop IS which sorted by priority using Mc Farlan's Strategic Grid and grouped into support application, key operational, strategic, and high potential applications which each have different benefits of each other . Furthermore, it is expected that the development is planned to be implemented gradually in the next four years with the new IS policies that can be implemented within the company

Leveraging Smart Technology for User Experience Personalization – A Comparative Case Study of Innovative Payment Systems

Background: This study seeks to understand how the attributes of smart technology (SMT) can be leveraged to enable personalized services and optimize unique user experiences to attract and retain customers. Based on Kang et al.’s (2020) study of SMT attributes and quality effects and Liang et al.’s (2006) study on personalized recommendation and user satisfaction, we constructed a SMT personalization model to analyze how the SMT attributes of smart functionality and smart content enable personalization in different ways and create unique customer experiences throughout the user journey. Method: Two representative payment systems were selected to depict how they integrated the strengths of personalized smart functionalities and contents to innovate their business models, optimize user experiences, and sustain business growth. Results: Based on the comparative analysis of the two payment cases, the functionality and content attributes of smart chips and omni-channel platforms were explored, and the tailored advisory and responsive support for customers both offline and online were validated. Conclusion: The life-enriching service innovations provide valuable insights for leveraging SMT for personalization. It is hoped that the SMT personalization model can be extended to other types of SMT applications and can be used as a framework for designing innovative services

How to improve Banco Santander Brasil business model by analyzing opportunities of Cross Sell

CEM

The practice of relationship marketing in hotels

In relationship marketing most research has focused on the desired outcome without paying much attention to its essential constituents. In acknowledgment, this research explored the key dimensions necessary for the implementation of a relationship marketing strategy. A number of key dimensions of relationship marketing were identified in this research, amongst which are market segmentation, organisational memory, organisational culture, role model, relationship management, service customisation, trust and commitment. This research employed a qualitative case study approach in order to explore the activities involved in the implementation of relationship marketing in hotel groups and to gain a better understanding of the approaches taken by hotels to build, develop and maintain long term customer relationships. The issues underpinning this research were investigated in a mid-market hotel company located in the United Kingdom with softer and harder brand hotel groups. Multiple research methods included participant and non-participant observations, in-depth qualitative interviews with hotel managers and the company's marketing director and qualitative interviews with a number of the company's customers to ensure reliability of the data collected. The data gathered from the research methods was analysed using ethnographic techniques. Key findings from this research indicated that a relationship marketing strategy depends on an organisational culture that is relationship orientated, an organisational memory that involves a database system and staff memory, service customisation, managers as role models, trust and commitment. However, customer loyalty and relationship marketing are not necessarily linked as a transactional approach to marketing can also achieve high brand loyalty, if products are differentiated. Customers can have an emotional tie with a hotel brand without the implementation of an interactive approach. Furthermore, in the case of a softer brand hotel group, customers tend to develop a stronger relationship with the individual hotels than with the brand as opposed to in a harder brand hotel group where customers develop a stronger relationship with the brand than with the individual hotel units. To conclude, this research suggests that a transactional approach to marketing can be equally effective in achieving high brand loyalty and that relationship marketing should only be directed to current and potential profitable customers

The applicability of the Internet of Things (IoT) between fundamental rights to health and to privacy

This work aims to study main insecurities and uncertainties regarding to IoT, verifying its impact to the exercise of the fundamental rights to healthcare and to privacy. Its specific objectives are: i) to present promises of IoT to healthcare and treatments; ii) to expose risks and uncertainties identified with IoT until the present moment; iii) to analyze ethical and legal principles (mainly in Brazil) concerning to IoT uses. Its main hypothesis is that healthcare can be revolutionarily improved with IoT, but despite of all of that revolution in good practices, good technologies of security, securitized by public policies and legal practices, have also to be implemented and improved by scholars, jurists and politicians. Methodology: hypothetical-deductive method of research, with a qualitative and transdisciplinar method of approach, and a bibliographical research technique. Results: IoT/IoMT presents a great potential of actualization of the fundamental right to health, but the security of the collection and storage of sensitive data should be the first concern in the development of systems involving such technologies, since there is an immense potential of disrespect to the fundamental right to the privacy of individuals from their use, not only by private third parties, but also, by the State

An Investigation into Consumer-Brand Relationships

An emerging perspective in marketing theoiy and practice is to consider consumers entering a range of metaphorical relationships with brands. This supersedes the concept of brand loyalty because it takes into account brand portfolios with which consumers enter relationships and does not restrict loyalty to a single brand. This thesis will build on the limited work into metaphorical brand relationships. The role of relationship marketing in building or jeopardizing relationships will be investigated. Combining the three literature streams of branding, relationship marketing and interpersonal relationship psychology provides insight into consumer behaviour. This enables brand and relationship marketing strategies to be better matched to consumers' needs. A central argument in the thesis states that to fully understand the relationship, both consumers and brands require investigation. A consumer-brand relationship theoretical model is proposed. The model consists of four elements; the consumer; the brand; the relationship and finally the context. The consumer and the brand elements are deconstructed further. On the brand side organisational culture and strategy are thought to contribute towards relationship marketing approaches and direct brand strategy. Brand strategy, positioning and personality determine the actions of the brand as a relationship partner. Consumer behaviour was attributed to their socialisation and lifestyle, self-concept and attachment style. Attachment style is the area of personality that determines behaviour within interpersonal relationships. The consumer brand relationship model was investigated through five research hypotheses. Two service industries within a case study research design were used to test the hypotheses. Although the broad consumer brand relationship model was supported, attachment style was not found to influence the quality of brand level relationships. The form of relationship marketing strategy on the other hand was found to determine the quality of relationships