IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v201y2025ics0148296325005235.html

Conceptualizing post-sales relationship management in B2B markets: review, synthesis, and recommendations for future research

Author

Listed:
  • Voorhees, Clay M.
  • Boylan, Nicole M.
  • Bauer, Carlos
  • Fombelle, Paul W.
  • Jenkins, Mason R.

Abstract

To keep up with changing customer demands, business-to-business selling firms now employ multiple postsales relationship management models, including proactive postsales service (PPS), customer success management (CSM), and key account management (KAM). These functions are often performed in parallel and may exist within the same organization. Prior research in marketing and sales has demonstrated the role and promise of each postsales relationship management model, but they are typically considered in isolation. This paper synthesizes existing literature on B2B postsales relationship management and provides a conceptual framework that clarifies the unique roles, overlaps, and contingencies among PPS, KAM, and CSM. Findings suggest that firms may integrate models based on customer needs, data, and postsales service goals. Promising directions for future research are provided that should help sales and service scholars advance scholarship regarding B2B relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Voorhees, Clay M. & Boylan, Nicole M. & Bauer, Carlos & Fombelle, Paul W. & Jenkins, Mason R., 2025. "Conceptualizing post-sales relationship management in B2B markets: review, synthesis, and recommendations for future research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:201:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325005235
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115700
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296325005235
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115700?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bryan Hochstein & Clay Voorhees & Alexander Pratt & Deva Rangarajan & Duane Nagel & Vijay Mehrotra, 2023. "Customer success management, customer health, and retention in B2B industries," Post-Print hal-04551373, HAL.
    2. Aria, Massimo & Cuccurullo, Corrado, 2017. "bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 959-975.
    3. Jasmin Feste & Björn Sven Ivens & Catherine Pardo, 2020. "Key account selection as a political process : Conceptual foundation and exploratory investigation," Post-Print hal-02946092, HAL.
    4. Grewal, Dhruv & Benoit, Sabine & Noble, Stephanie M. & Guha, Abhijit & Ahlbom, Carl-Philip & Nordfält, Jens, 2023. "Leveraging In-Store Technology and AI: Increasing Customer and Employee Efficiency and Enhancing their Experiences," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(4), pages 487-504.
    5. Bhukya, Ramulu & Paul, Justin, 2023. "Social influence research in consumer behavior: What we learned and what we need to learn? – A hybrid systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    6. Snyder, Hannah, 2019. "Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 333-339.
    7. Wolfgang Ulaga & Werner Reinartz, 2011. "Hybrid Offerings: How Manufacturing Firms Combine Goods and Services Successfully," Post-Print hal-00642039, HAL.
    8. Sandesh, Sadasivan Pillai & .S, Sreejesh & Paul, Justin, 2023. "Key account management in B2B marketing: A systematic literature review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    9. Cai, Han & Mardani, Abbas, 2023. "Research on the impact of consumer privacy and intelligent personalization technology on purchase resistance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    10. Leonore Peters & Björn Sven Ivens & Catherine Pardo, 2022. "Key account managers’ identification profiles and effectiveness : A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis," Post-Print hal-04325640, HAL.
    11. Locander, Jennifer A. & White, Allyn & Newman, Christopher L., 2020. "Customer responses to frontline employee complaining in retail service environments: The role of perceived impropriety," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 315-323.
    12. Björn Sven Ivens & Catherine Pardo & Robert Salle & Bernard Cova, 2009. "Relationship keyness : The underlying concept for different forms of key relationship management," Post-Print hal-02311844, HAL.
    13. Hunter, Gary K., 2019. "On conceptualizing, measuring, and managing augmented technology use in business-to-business sales contexts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 201-213.
    14. Lena Steinhoff & Robert W. Palmatier, 2016. "Understanding loyalty program effectiveness: managing target and bystander effects," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 88-107, January.
    15. Eggert, Andreas & Ulaga, Wolfgang & Gehring, Anna, 2020. "Managing Customer Success in Business Markets: Conceptual Foundation and Practical Application," SMR - Journal of Service Management Research, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 4(2-3), pages 121-132.
    16. Wiertz, Caroline & de Ruyter, Ko & Keen, Cherie & Streukens, Sandra, 2004. "Cooperating for service excellence in multichannel service systems: An empirical assessment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 424-436, April.
    17. Wolfgang Ulaga & Christian Kowalkowski, 2022. "Servitization: A State-of-the-Art Overview and Future Directions," Springer Books, in: Bo Edvardsson & Bård Tronvoll (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Service Management, pages 169-200, Springer.
    18. Yany Grégoire & Fateme Ghadami & Sandra Laporte & Sylvain Sénécal & Denis Larocque, 2018. "How can firms stop customer revenge? The effects of direct and indirect revenge on post-complaint responses," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 1052-1071, November.
    19. Jasmin Feste & Björn Sven Ivens & Catherine Pardo, 2022. "Key account management formalization and effectiveness : A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis," Post-Print hal-04325641, HAL.
    20. Hochstein, Bryan & Voorhees, Clay M. & Pratt, Alexander B. & Rangarajan, Deva & Nagel, Duane M. & Mehrotra, Vijay, 2023. "Customer success management, customer health, and retention in B2B industries," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 912-932.
    21. Voorhees, Clay M. & Fombelle, Paul W. & Gregoire, Yany & Bone, Sterling & Gustafsson, Anders & Sousa, Rui & Walkowiak, Travis, 2017. "Service encounters, experiences and the customer journey: Defining the field and a call to expand our lens," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 269-280.
    22. Hochstein, Bryan & Bolander, Willy & Christenson, Brett & Pratt, Alexander B. & Reynolds, Kristy, 2021. "An Investigation of Consumer Subjective Knowledge in Frontline Interactions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 336-346.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:10:p:2963-2980 is not listed on IDEAS

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bakeshloo, Khashayar Afshar & Agnihotri, Raj & Mohammadzadeh, Mohammad, 2025. "Metaverse and B2B marketing: untapped research opportunities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    2. De Keyser, Arne & Antonetti, Paolo & Rouziou, Maria & Béal, Mathieu & Wang, Zih-Hsiang & Grégoire, Yany & Lussier, Bruno, 2025. "Understanding the B2B customer experience and journey: A convergence-based lens," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    3. Arne de Keyser & Paolo Antonetti & Maria Rouziou & Mathieu Béal & Zih-Hsiang Wang & Yany Grégoire & Bruno Lussier, 2025. "Understanding the B2B customer experience and journey : A convergence-based lens," Post-Print hal-05098375, HAL.
    4. Arne De Keyser & Yves Van Vaerenbergh, 2024. "Beyond the snafu: Research directions in customer experience-led business transformation," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 14(1), pages 144-157, June.
    5. Areeba Khan & Saboohi Nasim, 2025. "Mapping research on the subjective well-being of knowledge workers: a systematic enquiry deploying bibliometrics," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 75(1), pages 911-954, February.
    6. Baliga, Ashwin J. & Goel, Ashish & Fletcher-Chen, Chavi C.-Y. & Guda, Sridhar & Kumar, Rajesh, 2025. "Mental health among B2B salespeople: A morphological analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    7. Chen, Yanyan & Mandler, Timo & Meyer-Waarden, Lars, 2021. "Three decades of research on loyalty programs: A literature review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 179-197.
    8. Hongxia Jin & Lu Lu & Haojun Fan, 2022. "Global Trends and Research Hotspots in Long COVID: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-14, March.
    9. Ajjima Jiravichai & Ruth Banomyong, 2022. "A Proposed Methodology for Literature Review on Operational Risk Management in Banks," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Johannes Hofmeister & Dominik K. Kanbach & Jens Hogreve, 2024. "Measuring and managing service productivity: a meta-analysis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 739-775, March.
    11. Talan, Amogh & Rao, Amar & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Apostu, Simona-Andreea & Abbas, Shujaat, 2023. "Transition towards clean energy consumption in G7: Can financial sector, ICT and democracy help?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Marcelo Werneck Barbosa, 2022. "A Critical Appraisal of Review Studies in Circular Economy: a Tertiary Study," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 473-505, June.
    13. Benoit, Sabine & Merfeld, Katrin & Tunn, Vivian S.C. & Schaefers, Tobias & Andreassen, Tor Wallin, 2025. "The B2B sharing economy: Framework, implications, and future research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    14. Friess, Maximilian & Haumann, Till & Alavi, Sascha & Ionut Oproiescu, Alexandru & Schmitz, Christian & Wieseke, Jan, 2024. "The contingent effects of innovative digital sales technologies on B2B firms’ financial performance," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 703-723.
    15. Snyder, Hannah & Witell, Lars & Gustafsson, Anders & McColl-Kennedy, Janet R., 2022. "Consumer lying behavior in service encounters," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 755-769.
    16. Arvind Shroff & Satish Kumar & Luisa M. Martinez & Nitesh Pandey, 2024. "From clicks to consequences: a multi-method review of online grocery shopping," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 925-964, June.
    17. Stephany Isabel Vallarta-Serrano & Edgar Santoyo-Castelazo & Edgar Santoyo & Esther O. García-Mandujano & Holkan Vázquez-Sánchez, 2023. "Integrated Sustainability Assessment Framework of Industry 4.0 from an Energy Systems Thinking Perspective: Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-30, July.
    18. Mauricio Marrone & Sascha Lemke & Lutz M. Kolbe, 2022. "Entity linking systems for literature reviews," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(7), pages 3857-3878, July.
    19. Karen Castañeda & Omar Sánchez & Rodrigo F. Herrera & Guillermo Mejía, 2022. "Highway Planning Trends: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-33, May.
    20. Ratinho, Tiago & Bruneel, Johan, 2024. "Taking stock of research on hybrid organizations: Enriching theoretical perspectives, extending empirical contexts, and expanding practical relevance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:201:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325005235. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.