Does customer portfolio analysis relate to customer performance? An empirical analysis of alternative strategic perspective

An important managerial task in business-to-business marketing is the strategic management of supplier-customer relationships, which is concerned with a portfolio of relationships. A review of existing customer portfolio theories reveals that: most of the portfolio dimensions have not yet been empirically validated; the theoretical base of relevant dimensions may be conceptually inadequate in terms of strategy analysis; and the link between customer portfolio dimensions and customer performance has not yet been examined. Attempts to address these gaps in the literature by studying customer portfolios of large UK-based banks. The main results indicate that the common industrial organization perspective may only give a short run picture of customer performance. Suggests that long run positioning value of a customer portfolio can be accounted for by resource-based analysis and strategic approach to customer portfolio analysis. Concludes with a discussion of the results and implications.