Copyright by Keith Richards, 2007.doc

Copyright by Keith Richards, 2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Relationship Effectiveness and Key Account Performance: Assessing Inter-Firm Fit between Buying and Selling Organizations A Dissertation Presented to The faculty of the C.T. Bauer College of Business University of Houston In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Keith Richards July 9, 2007 Relationship Effectiveness and Key Account Performance: Assessing Inter-Firm Fit between Buying and Selling Organizations APPROVED: _________________________________ Eli Jones Professor of Marketing Chairperson of Committee _________________________________ Michael Ahearne Associate Professor of Marketing _________________________________ Steven P. Brown Bauer Professor of Marketing _________________________________ Wynne W. Chin Professor of Decision and Information Systems _________________________________ Arthur D. Warga Dean, C. T. Bauer College of Business  For my family: Jennie, this is for you. I couldn’t have done it without your love, encouragement and support. Thank you. Andrew, Austin and Ansley know that I love you and believe in each of you. If Dad can do this, you can do anything!  Relationship Effectiveness and Key Account Performance: Assessing Inter-Firm Fit between Buying and Selling Organizations ABSTRACT Key accounts represent one of a company’s most important opportunities for developing successful partnerships. To develop these key accounts companies employ dedicated managers and align resources with the needs of the customer. Based on qualitative interviews conducted during this study, managers indicate that they intuitively know that “fit” between the buying and selling company is of great importance. Managers suggest that assessed “fit” helps determine when to invest and when to withhold investments with key accounts. However, this degree of fit has largely been ignored in academic literature. This study examines these dimensions of fit between the bu