GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER

AS
POLITICAL ENTREPRENEUR

Group 1

Abhishek R
Azeem Hafeez
Azhar Mohammed
Hari Sankar
Raghu Mohan
Shruthi P
Abstract
 Focus on the emerging management task of Global Account
Manager(GAM)
 Major concern of GAM studies:
 The nature of role of GAM

 No of models that explore GAM as a political entrepreneur

 Introduction of contextual model of political entrepreneurial behavior

 Integrate concepts of political entrepreneur, model of GAM boundary

spanning behavior and relationship development model

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 2

 Introduction:
Nature of role performed by GAM
 GAM normally recruited/promoted from within
 Chosen from a pool of national account/sales managers
 Recruits requires knowledge and experience of organization and
product/services
 Perform boundary spanning roles across 2 interfaces

 Internal interface between global and national account management

 External interface between selling company and dispersed activities

of global accounts

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 3

GAM as Political Entrepreneur
 The role requires to navigate sensitive commercial and
political aspects of interface relationships.
 The political and entrepreneurial skills are impacted by
contextual factors
 Application of skills are related to stages of relationship
development
 Significant implication for companies seeking to recruit,
develop and retain GAM

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 4

 Boundary Spanning Roles
 Originated in open systems approaches to strategic management and
marketing
 Centered on internal organization adaptation to external environment change
 People involved : linking pins, information brokers, gate keepers
 Providing human bridges and are organization's antenna in external business
environment.
 Not only represent the organization but mediate between it and outside
delivering the global promise
 Compared to Role conflict, Role ambiguity is more amenable to management
intervention
 Role ambiguity is high in role of GAM because of complexity of coordinating
the function they perform

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 5

Role of Global Account Manager(GAM)
GAM – what the role entails?

1. Millman & Wilson(1999) – “GAM require finely tuned political

instincts that enable them to navigate corridors of power, to
reconcile conflicting interests, & to enlist the support of people
at all levels.”

2. Millman (2000) – “… political/cultural environment at the

buyer/seller interface and coping with the unrelenting pressures
of different time zones.”

3. Wilson, Groom, Millman & Weilbaker(2000) – “… knowing the

people to speak to, the buttons to press and the strings to pull,
both in their organization and that of the customer.”

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 6

After Qualitative Research – a clearer
picture…
 3 main manager types – Analyst, Politician, Entrepreneurial Strategist.

 Skill sets associated with these types were seen as both hierarchical & cumulative.

 Analysts – primarily sales oriented, team-oriented trouble-shooters typically

possessing knowledge of products/services, technologies etc.

 Politicians – combine diplomatic and linguistic skills with cultural empathy and
knowledge of business trends/opportunities.

 Entrepreneurial Strategists (cumulative) – analytic & political skills, operates with a

fair degree of autonomy, display high levels of business acumen, relationships for
business opportunities.

 A fourth function – the global co-ordinator’s role – co-ordination encompasses the

realization of synergies between individual, team and organizational competencies.

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 7

The Political Entrepreneur - Role
 Clearly a boundary-spanning role at both
the internal & external interfaces.

 Internal (mediating role) – between global

& local account management.

 External (political & entrepreneurial skills)

– between the selling company & the
dispersed activities of its global account.

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 8

The Political Entrepreneur – Skill set
 In order to achieve the level of integration & co-ordination
necessary to realize the relationship’s value potential, the GAM
must exhibit high levels of both political and entrepreneurial skill.

 Degree to which these skills can be applied depends on the

following factors:

1. The global capacity of both buyer and supplier.

2. The willingness of buyer & supplier to collaborate in some form
of partnership.
3. The degree of organizational complexity and cultural diversity
which surrounds the relationship.
4. The state of relational interdependence and entanglement.
5. The boundary spanning behavior adopted by the GAM.

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 9

A Model of Boundary-Spanning
Behavior

High
Renegade Arbiter
Global
Account
Manager’s
Identification
with his Global Low
Self- Partisan
Account Server
High Low

Global Account Manager’s

Identification with his Employer

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 10

Boundary –Spanning Behaviors
 Self-Server
○ Close affiliation to their personal career interests.
 Renegade
○ Displays affinity towards his account reflecting close
personal relationships/attractiveness of account.
 Partisan
○ Strong orientation towards their employer that is linked to a
perception that long term career prospects are tied to
political developments at head quarters.
 Arbiter
○ Balanced global/local approach effectively reconciles
tensions that exist between self, client and employer’s
interests.
Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 11
Boundary –Spanning Behaviors Impacts

○ Self –Server
 Focus analytic,political,entrepreneurial skills largely for personal
advantage.
 Renegades and Partisans
 Unlikely to realize full potential of buyer/seller relationship .
 Their actions may undermine the interests of one or other of the
parties.
 Arbiter
 Create synergic value for both buyer and seller employing
analytic,political,entrepreneurial skills

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 12

 Political and Entrepreneurial Boundary –Spanning
Behavior of Global Account Managers
Political Role
Self-Server Acts to manipulate both
buyer and seller for
personal advantage
Renegade Manipulates supplier with
customer’s consideration
of the corporate and/or
national culture.
Partisan Attempts to increase
personal standing with the
seller.
Arbiter Facilitates achievement of
goals that benefit buyer,
seller and self.
Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE
Entrepreneurial Role
Seeks business opportunities to
achieve personal career objectives
Identifies commercial advantage
for the customer with little
strategic/operational impact upon
the seller
Identifies commercial advantage
for the seller with little
strategic/operational impact upon
the customer
Seeks business opportunities and
perceives synergistic potentials of
value to buyer,seller and self.
13
A Model of Global Account Manager
Political and Entrepreneurial Behavior
 Contextual factors impact exercising
Political and Entrepreneurial capabilities
 Levels of Organizational complexity and
cultural diversity
Span of relationship
Level of organizational penetration
 Degree of organizational interdependence
and integration

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 14

 The Impact of context on the role of Political
Entrepreneur

High
Pe PE
Levels of
Organizational
complexity and
cultural
diversity
Low
pe pE

High Low

Degree of organizational
interdependence and integration

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 15

Millman-Wilson Relational Development
Model
 Pre-GAM (to Early-GAM)
Relationship is poorly developed
Demand of application of political skills and opportunity to
apply entrepreneurial skills are both low – pe .
GAM identification space –Renegade/Partisan
 Early-GAM (to mid-GAM)
Potential of the account is realized and GAM has to
ensure that the resources of the supplier best serves the
need of the customer
The application of political and Entrepreneurial skills is
rated – Pe .
GAM identification space –Renegade/partisan may begin
to exhibit arbiter behaviour

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 16

 Mid-GAM (to Partnership –GAM)
GAM have developed a strong vertical and horizontal
network of relationship with in the client organization.
The application of political and Entrepreneurial skills is
rated – pE
GAM identification space – Arbiter.
 Partnership-GAM (to synergistic-GAM)
GAM will have closer relationship and will have greater
knowlwdge about the customer
The application of political and Entrepreneurial skills is
rated – PE
GAM identification space – Arbiter

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 17

 Uncoupling-GAM
The application of political and
Entrepreneurial skills is rated – Pe
GAM identification space – Partisan.

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 18

Thank You !! 

Group 1 - Role of GAM as PE 19