5. Discussion
KAM is now viewed as an important source of competitive advantage and differentiation but lacks a theoretical lens that integrates its critical elements and supports its practice. To address this gap, we conduct a systematic literature review of KAM through the lens of resource-based theory (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984), integrating the dynamic capability perspective (Teece et al., 1997), allowing us to classify the relevant resources and capabilities that underpin KAM (Fig. 1).
Our theoretical contribution stems from providing a conceptually grounded framework (Fig. 4) of KAM as complex and interconnected sets of resources (tangible and intangible) and capabilities (operational and dynamic) that—over time—have the potential to generate sustained competitive advantage. While a company's tangible and intangible resources are the building blocks of KAM and such resources continue to be of interest, scholarly attention is shifting to research on capabilities (e.g., Fig. 6). Authors increasingly recognize that capabilities—or coordinated tasks that utilize resources—not only enable firms to do business in the present but also help them change how they will do business in the future.
By examining the breadth and depth of the portfolio of resources and capabilities necessary for KAM to thrive, our review reveals that the strategic value of resources stems from the ways in which they are used with other resources and capabilities to generate revenues and profits (Phelan & Lewin, 2000). We find, given evidence of the highly dynamic nature of B2B environments and markets, that the role of dynamic capabilities is key. As noted by Helfat and Peteraf (2003), we confirm that an over-concentration on current competence at the expense of renewal does not represent successful resource management. The dynamic aspects of organizational capabilities—defined as the ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments (Teece et al., 1997)—are essential to successful KAM, which must address rapidly changing customers and environments or even create market change (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000). Thus, in stable markets, organizational capabilities are detailed, analytic, stable processes that resemble traditional routines but, in high-velocity markets, they are emergent, fragile processes with unpredictable outcomes (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000).
