Market-oriented Culture Research Articles

Developing a Market Oriented Culture: A Critical Evaluation

This paper presents a critical evaluation of the notion that a market oriented culture can be developed and managed. It documents a critique of prescriptive‐based literature of market oriented culture and argues that such literature is flawed in that its conceptualization of organizational culture is incomplete. The paper suggests and discusses five principal areas which are either ignored or insufficiently addressed by extant literature on market oriented culture. These are: (1) the view that organizational culture is pluralistic, (2) the understanding that market oriented culture can be viewed as a family of concepts, (3) the notion of cultural dominance, (4) the question of whether culture can be managed, and (5) the problems of cultural entrenchment. The paper develops a series of conclusions and implications centred on the need for further conceptual and empirical development of the content and processes of a market oriented culture.

Market-oriented culture, knowledge-related resources, reputational assets and superior performance: a conceptual framework

In the last 10 years new theories of superior business performance have emerged from the work of marketing, strategy, organizational theory and economics scholars. These new perspectives, known under the labels of resource-based view of the firm, competence-based competition and evolutionary theory, share a special focus on a firm's rare, valuable and difficult-to-imitate resources (e.g. intangible assets and organizational capabilities) as the key determinants of superior business performance. Based upon this work and developments in the marketing strategy literature, in this study we develop a conceptual model which links these different explanations of superior performance and renews original ideas in terms of the drivers of success and superior performance. Competition is approached as a dynamic phenomenon and, therefore, firm success is not permanent. Innovations are a common way in which the competitive advantages of other firms are offset or eliminated. In fact, the role of knowledge-related resources is highlighted in the conceptual model as a key determinant in the continuous creation of competitive advantages in an increasingly competitive environment.

Catholicismes populaires urbains et globalisation: étude de cas au Chili

Contrary to supposition, globalization is not imposing a homogeneous and secularized culture. A case study of popular beliefs and practices in Santiago (Chile) reveals the great transformations they have undergone, but not the decisive influence of a market-oriented and pragmatic culture. Traditional and orthodox Catholic beliefs are being relativized and diversified, and this is evident in the resurgence of new types of religious syncretisms—even within popular Catholicism—with elements of what have been called “new age” beliefs. There are numerous types of popular urban Catholicism, ranging from the rationalistic to the magico-religious and even mystico-esoteric. In urban and modern contexts, popular Catholicism provides a context for the reconstruction of community and local identities and for resisting the imposition of a global culture of consumerism, without impeding access to codes of modernity.

A longitudinal study of the impact of market structure, firm structure, strategy, and market orientation culture on dimensions of small-firm performance

A longitudinal study of the impact of market structure, firm structure, strategy, and market orientation culture on dimensions of small-firm performance

Market orientation and organizational culture in hospitals.

Hospitals have been advised to respond to environmental pressures by changing from a product to a market orientation. Such changes are difficult to accomplish because of the entrenched behaviors and attitudes of hospitals employees. This article proposes organizational cultures as the avenue to a market orientation. It describes the role of hospital culture as an antecedent to market orientation. It also suggests ways to develop and maintain a market-oriented culture in hospitals.

A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Market Structure, Firm Structure, Strategy, and Market Orientation Culture on Dimensions of Small-Firm Performance

The purpose of this article is to determine market orientation’s relative impact on small-business performance, compared to other influences, in an integrated model using longitudinal data. Contrary to expectations based on the management literature, the results indicate weak causal relationships between market environment, small-firm structure, and small-firm strategy. The results further indicate weak influences of these variables, but strong and consistent influences of market orientation, on various measures of small-firm performance. Contrary to expectations based on business policy literature, relative product quality and new product success were not significant influences on profitability, perhaps due to the significant influence of market orientation on these variables. In addition, although increases in growth/share had a significant short-term influence on increases in profitability, high levels of previous years’ firm growth/share had a negative influence on current profitability. The previous year’s level of firm coordinating systems and market competitive intensity has a significant impact on the level of small-firm market orientation.

The user in focus — the development of a market-oriented corporate culture

Successful product innovation requires market-oriented thinking. On the basis of empirical studies of manufacturing companies and service organizations in several countries, it is shown that a market-oriented culture can be developed by: (1) a bottom-up approach at the operational level, with focus on the application of market-oriented concepts and tools in connection with product innovation projects; or by (2) a top-down approach at the strategic level, comprising a company-wide change programme. The focus of the paper is on the top-down approach which starts at the top level and comprises an analysis of strategic factors such as management philosophy, business concept, major objectives, etc., and is followed by the planning and implementation of the change process. Several propositions have been formulated that will serve as guidelines for practitioners and pose a challenge to researchers for further studies.

Free Trade and Protection: The U.S.-Canada Case

Few issues arouse so many mixed feelings of fervor and trepidation in Canada as the question of free trade between Canada and the United States. The fervor stems from the much touted argument of neoclassical economists, embraced by the current Conservative government of Canada, that a free-trade arrangement will produce substantial gains to Canada in real income and employment through unfettered access to the world's richest market. The trepidation comes from concern that free trade may undermine one of the central objectives that led to the establishment of Canada as a nation: to create and preserve a social and political culture different from that of the United States. Concern over cultural domination is nowhere more real than in Canada, given the facts that the United States accounts for about three quarters of Canadian trade, 90 percent of Canadians live within 200 miles of the U.S. border, and two thirds of Canadians speak the lingua franca of the United States, itself the greatest purveyor of market-oriented culture. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.