Market Orientation and Poverty Reduction: A Study of Rural Small Businesses in Ghana: An Abstract

Abstract

This paper examines how rural small businesses in Ghana enact market orientations within the context of government policy initiatives on small business growth with the aim of reducing poverty in rural communities. The present study recognizes that a large population of Ghana is reliant on the success of these small businesses in rural areas. We acknowledge that government policy intervention in rural economic development is necessary for small business growth and that market orientation is essential to the success of rural small businesses and subsequently poverty reduction. Therefore, the aims of this research are: (1) to examine the application of market orientation strategies among small businesses in rural Ghana, (2) to assess the impact of market orientation on business performance, and (3) to examine the implications of government rural development policy on poverty reduction through rural small businesses’ pursuit of market orientation strategies. To this end, the study addresses five specific research questions: What market orientation strategies do small businesses in rural Ghana pursue? What is the effect of market orientation strategies on rural small business performance in terms of sales and profits, market share, and consumer perceptions? How has the government of Ghana poverty reduction policies affected rural small businesses’ marketing practices? What are the key policy challenges encountered in the rural small business marketing domain?