An Exploratory Study on Managing Fixed Customers: Cases of Australian B-to-B Business

Masahiro Hosoda and  Kenichi Suzuki

Abstract

This study explores whether three Australian companies enhance customer relationships using information provided by Fixed Revenue Accounting (FRA). Employed over a long period in Japan’s service culture, FRA uses accounting information to identify customer segments, assess the financial importance of fixed customers in particular, and set customer service strategies to maximize firm performance. A case study was conducted to explore whether FRA could be transferred to a non-Japanese business context. Data was collected through interviews guided by a structured questionnaire and analyzed by applying the KJ (Kawakita Jiro) method to categorize how interview respondents define fixed customers and assess their financial significance. For FRA to be successfully adopted, firms must share its underlying principles, follow its analytical procedures, and commit themselves to long-term customer relationships. We found this to be the case among the three Australian business-to-business enterprises. We conclude that FRA could be employed in Australia to establish favorable long-term customer relationships.

Keywords: Fixed Customers, Fixed Revenue, Fixed Revenue Accounting, Business-to-Business Companies, Australian Companies