| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1027864 | Industrial Marketing Management | 2011 | 12 Pages |
Designing and implementing global customer teams (GCTs) represents a key task for suppliers that are expanding the scope of their customer relationships. However, research has not provided an explanation of how these teams function and what determines their performance. Using an interdisciplinary combination of concepts from customer management and organizational behavior research streams, we develop an integrative framework of GCT design and performance. The framework is conceptualized with qualitative interview data and validated with survey data from 273 members of 113 GCTs in six multinational companies. Our results indicate that team performance is influenced directly by three team processes: communication and collaboration, conflict management, and proactiveness. Team design in terms of goal and role definition, customer coverage, empowerment, heterogeneity, skills adequacy, and leadership indirectly influences performance, mediated by team processes. In addition, three factors of the organizational environment—top management support, rewards and incentives, and training—have similar indirect effects.
Research Highlights► Develops an integrative framework of global customer team design and performance. ► Performance is directly impacted by communication, conflict management, proactiveness. ► Team design and organizational environment have an indirect influence ► Design includes goals, coverage, empowerment, heterogeneity, skills, leadership.
