Global account management in multinational corporations: Theory and evidence

This paper uses two theoretical perspectives, information processing and re source dependency, to examine global account management (the co-ordination of activities involved in serving a single customer in multiple countries), If is hypothesized that global account management structures allow the mul tinational corporation (MNC) to increase its information processing capacit y as well as its bargaining power vis-a-vis the global customer. Using data on 106 global accounts in 16 MNCs, we find support for both perspectives i ndividually. Furthermore, evidence is presented for an interaction effect i n which the effectiveness of structures for increasing information processi ng is conditional upon the presence of high customer dependence.