Market Orientation within University Schools of Business as Perceived by Deans and Chief Academic Officers: An Item by Item Comparison Using Narver and Slater’s Scale

Abstract

Narver and Slater’s (1990) market orientation scale is reworded to measure market orientation of university schools of business as perceived by deans and chief academic officers. Items measure market orientation toward students, parents of students, and employers of graduates. Data were collected via mailed survey. This study is part of a larger effort. While mean scores for overall market orientation and its three components (customer orientation, competitor orientation, and coordination) are reported elsewhere, the focus of this study is limited to examination of the individual items of the reworded (for university schools of business administration) Narver and Slater (1990) market orientation scale. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the mean scores of the individual items used to measure market orientation of schools of business administration toward students, parents of students, and employers as perceived by university academic Vice Presidents and business school Deans? 2. Do individual perceptions of the items used to measure market orientation of schools of business administration toward students, parents, and employers vary based on title or position of the administrator?