Do key account managers focus too much on commercial performance? A cognitive mapping application

Key account management programs have priority in the banking sector, conditioned by the drive to achieve competitive advantage while securing customer loyalty. Employees must manage these programs with demonstrated relationship- and ethics‐based attributes, and devote themselves fully to customers of strategic importance. By studying the thoughts of these key account managers, this research seeks to gain an enhanced understanding of how key account management programs operate in the banking sector and where account managers' focus lies. The cognitive mapping technique used makes possible the capture of key account managers' thinking and allows the representation of their ideas in the form of a network of concepts. Data answers to spontaneous, open-ended questions and recording the output in systematic exploration grids. Findings conform worries of managers that key account management focuses mainly on behavioral performance, followed by in-role, extra-role and results-based performance at the cost of return on investment objectives.