The Impact of Key Account Management Practices on Customer Purchase Intentions Amongst Food Catering Enterprises in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Abstract: The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of key account management practices on customer purchase intentions through a case study of selected food catering enterprises in Bulawayo. The objectives of the study were to: examine the importance of key account management amongst catering organisations in Bulawayo, ascertain key account management strategies that are being used by catering organisations in Bulawayo, analyse customers’ perceptions regarding their purchase intentions after experiencing the key account management strategies, investigate the benefits that catering organisations in Bulawayo are experiencing in adapting to the introduction of key account management strategies and evaluate the challenges that catering organisations in Bulawayo experienced in adapting to the introduction of key account management strategies. In Zimbabwe, catering businesses are increasingly being recognised as generating meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities. However, these businesses face many challenges that negatively impact on their viability. In order to mitigate those challenges, catering businesses employ a number of strategies that enable them to survive and continue operating. The research utilised the pragmatist paradigm through a sequential explanatory mixed methods design in terms of which both quantitative and qualitative data were used. The population in this study was 135 organisations registered by Zimtrade (2022) as catering organisations giving personalised catering services. Using purposive sampling, a sample size of 100 catering companies was selected. It was found and concluded that key account management practices have a positive and significant impact on customer purchase intentions amongst selected food catering enterprises in Bulawayo. Key account management (KAM) is a vital function in business-to-business (B2B) organisations, which focuses on developing and maintaining long-term relationships with high-value customers. It was recommended that food catering companies employ key account management champion leaders, establish KAM policies and employ a phased implementation of KAM.