The effect of teams on customer knowledge processing, esprit de corps and account performance in international key account management

Purpose – This study aims to examine what the role of key account teams is in the management of international key account customers in terms of customer knowledge processing behaviours of the supplier, esprit de corps of employees and supplier's key account performance. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from large industrial firms in Finland are used to compare the differences between supplier firms having a team and those not having a team for managing the key account customer. Findings – The results reveal a higher perceived level of customer‐knowledge acquisition, dissemination and utilisation, and of suppliers' key account performance, in the group representing team‐based key account management compared with the non‐team group. Originality/value – The article is one of the first studies in which the role of teams in the management of international key account customers is examined based on empirical, quantitative data.