Political Market Orientation Research Articles

Linking political brand image and voter perception in India: A political market orientation approach

Political parties in order to design their competitive strategies are always keen to understand the factors that govern voter's perception. Voter's perception in this paper utilizes voter's acknowledgement of voter orientation (VO) of political parties. The purpose of this paper is to examine the constituent variables and their cumulative impact on voter's orientation and examine the linkage that exists between them. The authors have proposed four key constructs that demonstrates causality namely voter involvement (VI), voter subjective knowledge (VSK), political brand image (PBI) and environmental factor (EF). The study has used SEM method of model estimation. VI and VSK merged into a new construct labelled as voter engagement (VE). Engaged voter would impact PBI positively and political brand impacts VO. The relationship of VE and VO is mediated PBI, but the same kind of mediation is not witnessed in the case of EF. This research advances the understanding of composite variables of VO from the vantage of political market orientation. Political brand mediates the association between VE and voter perception.

The Ethical Dimension in Political Market Orientation: A Framework for Evaluating the Impact of\xa0India\u2019s Look East Policy on Regional Income Convergence

In this paper, we employ what we term as ‘the ethical dimension in political market orientation (PMO)’ framework to underline how an integration of information from relevant stakeholder groups can inform the formulation of market-oriented, yet ethical policies. Against the backdrop of India’s Look East Policy (LEP), we undertake a critical analysis of historic economic data from 1980 to 2014 in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, often termed as the Seven Sisters because of their interdependence. Our analysis of the data, using time-series methods, reveals that policy changes ensuing from the economic reforms of 1990s and the initiation of the LEP in 1991 have resulted in regional income convergence in North-Eastern India. A key contribution of our work emanates from the fact that we determine two structural breaks endogenously from long time-series data, thereby identifying three distinct policy regimes, rather than specifying exogenous breaks based on historic and theoretical conjectures. Overall, our work offers both conceptual insights into processes that enable ethical and inclusive policy making, as well as empirical evidence emerging from stochastic convergence of incomes per capita for the Seven Sister states in the North-Eastern region in India, to illustrate how regional economic inequality can be reduced through targeted market-oriented policies.

From Markets to Stakeholders: Toward a Conceptual Model of Political Stakeholder Orientation

Since the first publication of the conceptual model of political market orientation model has been used empirically to understand the behavior and attitudes of political party members towards stakeholders in various contexts. The results have provided only limited support for the constructs that represent orientations towards the various stakeholder groups. This has led to an evolution in the conceptualization of the stakeholders that are included in the PMO model across existing literature with the aim of addressing this problem; whilst the inclusion of voters, party members and competing parties have received a degree of support across empirical investigations, it has proved difficult to usefully conceptualize other stakeholder groups. The research aim of this paper is to integrate recent advances in the theoretical foundations of political marketing with conceptual model of PMO in order to propose a revised conceptualization of a political stakeholder orientation. This aim is motivated by a need to further develop the conceptual foundations of the political marketing research field. This paper discusses recent research into the nature of stakeholders in the political marketing context and of the nature of the political exchange of value as a series of three, linked interactions. We subsequently present and critique the stakeholder orientation constructs of the PMO model. Finally, we demonstrate how these recent advances in the political marketing literature necessitate the development of the PMO concept into a broader PSO concept, based on a stakeholder perspective on political marketing.

How to Choose a Political Marketing Orientation: Voter Orientation or Political Brand Identity Orientation?

No entity has as much impact on as many lives as a government. Through social programs, taxes, military use, and many others, every life is impacted every day by public sector entities. This power, influence, and relevance to public life is acquired through the means of marketing, with candidates, parties, and interest groups spending billions of dollars each cycle in hopes of “winning” the democratic process, allowing them ultimately to exert their policies upon the public, changing the political and policy landscape of their country, city, state, or nation.Despite the enormous importance, utilization, and impact of marketing on politics, very little thought within marketing research literature has been given to understanding how political marketing strategy is developed, functions, or the antecedents for its success. This paper aims to be a starting point in changing this. It proposes a testable conceptual framework of political marketing strategy modes, using extant research and examples from political campaigns to develop a parsimonious model for what types of campaign modes exist, and how campaign strategies are chosen. Further, this paper lays out an agenda for future research, aiming to help marketing researchers move forward in researching and understanding political campaign strategy.

Strategy, market orientation and performance: the political context

This paper investigates the fit between the strategic posture of a political party and its political market orientation, and analyses the impact of this fit on party performance. For this purpose, a configuration theory logic is applied to the context of the political market; in particular, we develop strategic profiles (i.e. strategic postures and political market orientation) of four Belgian political parties represented in the Flemish Parliament. By comparing the strategic profiles derived from a questionnaire administered to 3148 party members with those of ‘theoretically ideal’ profiles, we uncover the ‘strategic misfit’ (or ‘misalignment’) for each party and then relate this misfit to party performance. Results indicate that there is a strong, negative relationship between the misalignment of actual and perceived strategic profiles on the one hand and performance on the other. However, the ‘ideal profiles’ differ with the strategic posture of a party. Thus, our findings show that it is not so much the strategic posture itself that will determine superior performance, but it is the strategic posture that the party aligns with implementing a particular political market orientation that is the most important factor. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A centralised market orientation: the implicit determinants of Finnish cultural policy in 1990–2010

This article examines the reactions of Finnish cultural policy to the neoliberal turn in its societal environment. The analysis of cultural policy documents in 1990–2010 concentrates on three particular elements of societal change: the reforms in public management, the reorientations in international relations and the paradigm of immaterial production. It is argued here that besides the mythical democratic pluralism of the Nordic welfare states, cultural policy treats newcomers to the political arena selectively. Consequently, the system, constructed originally for protecting free artistic expression and equal distribution of cultural possibilities, has been in the front line of political market orientation in Finland. The orientation is modelled rhetorically after the ideas of cultural pluralism and economic efficiency; in practice, the fight has been a technocratic one between different notions of governmental responsibilities. This mechanism stresses formal procedures at the expense of ad hoc negotiations, leading to a centralised market orientation.

Political Marketing Orientation: Confusions, Complications, and Criticisms

In this article, we seek to distinguish between two concepts often conflated in the literature: political market orientation and political marketing orientation. In the discussion, we focus specifically on voters rather than other actors in the political sphere such as competing parties, party members, the media, and lobby groups due to the centrality of the electorate in the political marketing literature and in political practice. We identify five key issues that influence the ability of parties and candidates to successfully leverage a well-developed political marketing orientation. These are (1) that it is difficult to control symbolization, (2) that it is difficult to control personality, (3) that there are value and symbol abnormalities, (4) that the public mind is unknowable, and (5) the corrupting power of negative campaigning. Finally, we distinguish two areas of further research, “downstream” research focused on political marketing orientation and “upstream” research focused on political market orientation, with specific recommendations for further research.

Political market orientation and strategic party postures in Danish political parties

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the strategic postures and political market orientation profile of two Danish parties. Profile stability at the organisational level is used as a control variable.Design/methodology/approachThe strategic political postures of two Danish parties are derived using a self‐typing study. Based on configuration theory, ideal organisational profiles to implement these studies are juxtaposed with the actual political market orientation profile for each party, gained from two datasets analysed using Partial Least Squares. Member activity levels are used to control for organisational stability.FindingsThe self‐typing study revealed that Party A was perceived to follow a relationship builder posture, and Party B a convinced ideologist posture. However, both market orientation profiles resembled the organisational structures of a convinced ideologist. Thus, Party A exhibits a mismatch between strategic orientation and implemented organisational profile, based on configuration theory. The results were generally stable across political activity levels.Research limitations/implicationsThe investigation represents an intra‐group analysis, i.e. it is concerned only with two parties in one political system; however, this reflects the oligopolistic character of the vast majority of electoral markets and thus, further research could compare results across political systems. A link with performance variables needs to be established to assess the extent to which the organisational alignment results in competitive advantages for a party.Practical implicationsWhilst there exists a general cohesiveness within parties regarding the overall strategic posture, political managers need to be aware of the subtle differences that can affect the market orientation of different groups within the party.Originality/valueThe study contributes to understanding the concept of market orientation in the political sphere. More specifically, it empirically links political market orientation as an issue of political marketing implementation on the one hand, and strategic postures of parties as a strategic issue on the other, following a configuration theory logic.

Explications of political market orientation and political brand orientation using the resource-based view of the political party

This paper adopts the resource-based view of the firm as a platform for an examination of three important political party capabilities: proactive political market orientation, responsive political market orientation, and political brand orientation. We develop a theoretical argument outlining the importance of the complementarity between these capabilities. The approach taken illustrates the links between political market orientation, using what we label as responsive political market orientation, proactive political market orientation, and political brand orientation by building on the marketing literature. We suggest that our treatment of political market orientation is important in helping to understand better its role within the resource-based view of the party. Further, it also aides in understanding political market orientation and branding in political marketing by parties within the context of competitive strategies and electoral performance.

Political marketing in the Greek context: does market orientation exist?

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to investigate whether and to what extent the two major parties in Greece, ND and PASOK, are market-oriented, and (2) to examine how effectively the two existing political market orientation models can explain the Greek reality. These models, Market-Oriented Party (MOP) and Political Market Orientation (PMO) combined with the concept of Strategic Political Postures (SPPs), form the theoretical underpinnings of the paper. The author followed an explanatory case study approach to examine the two major Greek political parties. The case study evidence indicated that both Greek parties of government used elements of market orientation. However, they cannot be characterised as fully market-oriented, since they focused almost exclusively on short-term voter desires and failed to fulfil their pre-election promises. The paper concludes that the two models of market orientation may partially explain the Greek case.

Political market orientation

This article is motivated by the growing need to integrate the current political science and marketing literature in order to provide a deeper understanding of the behaviour of political actors and their relationships with relevant stakeholder groups. In our article, we demonstrate how Ormrod’s conceptual model of political market orientation complements political science models of party organization by drawing attention to the competing interests of stakeholders in shaping party strategy and organizational structure. We treat parties as a multitude of actors rather than as monolithic entities and thus address the dearth of literature on the micro foundations of parties. Whilst the underlying conceptualization of a political market orientation draws on the management-based ‘relationship marketing’ approach, we acknowledge that the commercial and political contexts are not isomorphic, and thus we strive for contextual sensitivity. By adopting this approach it is hoped that the fears noted by political scientists that political marketing is solely concerned with applying standard management models to political parties with the resulting emphasis on communication tactics at election time, together with a more general ‘commodification’ of politics, can be assuaged.

Strategic Political Postures and Political Market Orientation: Toward an Integrated Concept of Political Marketing Strategy

Recently, the areas of strategic political marketing and political market orientation have been the subject of several conceptual articles that have provided the theoretical foundations for further empirical work. However, despite the close conceptual relatedness of the proposed concepts, they have yet to be integrated to provide a more nuanced framework that both researchers and political marketing practitioners can utilize in the development of strategies and offerings with which to achieve their organizational goals. The aim of this conceptual article is to address this deficit by developing an integrated concept of political marketing strategy using two complementary frameworks, namely strategic political postures and political market orientation (PMO). The authors introduce the two main concepts and derive for each of the strategic posture-specific PMO profiles as well as interconstruct relationships.

An investigation into the relationship between political activity levels and political market orientation

PurposeThe key objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between party member activity‐levels and perceptions of their party's political market orientation. Specifically, it aims to scrutinise the differences in the interplay of attitudinal and behavioural aspects of political market orientation.Design/methodology/approachUsing a wide variety of respondent groups within the party, the research draws on an existing conceptualisation of political market orientation and empirically test its relationship with party member activity levels. Three models, plus a baseline model, are developed and data from 1,156 questionnaires are used to investigate a structural equation model using the partial least square method.FindingsWhile the baseline model exhibits a robust pattern of positive relationships between the attitudinal and behavioural constructs, the comparative analysis of the different models shows that party activity levels have a significant impact on these relationships. The study identified that less active members perceive a wider range of attitudinal concepts to be of significance, compared to active members, politicians and party professionals.Originality/valueThis is one of a few studies empirically investigating the concept of political market orientation. Especially the focus on a wide range of respondents, in line with recent development in the literature on commercial market orientation, provides a nuanced analysis of the varying perception‐patterns of party stakeholders.

Understanding voter orientation in the context of political market orientation: is the political customer king?

This article develops a conceptual framework and measurement model of political market orientation (PMO). The relationships between different behavioural aspects of PMO and the attitudinal influences of such behaviour are analysed, and the study includes structural equation modelling to test several hypotheses. While the results show that political parties focus on several different aspects of market-oriented behaviour, especially using an internal and societal orientation as cultural antecedents, a more surprising result is the inconclusive effect of a voter orientation on PMO. This lends support to the argument of ‘looking beyond the customer’ in political marketing research and practice. The article discusses the findings in the context of the existing literature on political marketing and commercial market orientation.

Different Facets of Market Orientation: A Comparative Analysis of Party Manifestos

In this study, we employ the concept of political market orientation to better understand how the main political parties in the United Kingdom and Germany relate to other stakeholders in the political sphere through an exploratory content analysis of their core election offering, the manifesto. This study has two aims: first, we will discuss the different facets of the market orientation of the main U.K. and German parties in their respective 2005 general elections through an exploratory content analysis, and second, we will compare characteristics of market orientation between the two countries. While the U.K. parties generally exhibited similar levels of market orientation on each of the relevant construct dimensions, the German parties had more distinct profiles; thus, the applied dimensions of political market orientation show discriminatory power within and across electoral systems. In the United Kingdom, it was found that there was a marketplace-determined “gravitational center effect” that limited the political market orientation of the manifesto, while this was less pronounced in Germany. This leads to the hypothesis that certain aspects of political market orientation may be mediated by structural variables such as the electoral system.

Political Market Orientation and Its Commercial Cousin

There is surprisingly little research on the market orientation of political parties, unlike its commercial cousin, with only three authors publishing work that concentrates on the concept (O'Cass, 1996, 2001a,b; Lees-Marshment, 2001a,b; Ormrod, 2004, 2005). This paper seeks to analyse the more recent literature on the concept of political market orientation using the four synthesised dimensions of commercial market orientation identified by Lafferty and Hult (2001) as a framework. This study also presents Lafferty and Hult's (2001) four commercial market orientation dimensions and describes the differences between the related terms of “market orientation” and “marketing orientation.” Further, the article surveys the political market orientation literature and then discusses the perspective that each approach adopts, the extent to which a distinction is made between a “political market orientation” and a “political marketing orientation,” and how the political market orientation conceptualisations are related to each of the four commercial market orientation dimensions. Future research directions are proposed.

Political marketing in untraditional campaigns: the case of David Cameron's Conservative Party leadership victory

Abstract This study investigates the concept of political market orientation (PMO) in an untraditional setting, namely the 2005 contest for the leadership of the British Conservative Party. Based on a collective case‐study method, a content analysis of candidates' speeches and manifestos is provided. We operationalize four attitudinal constructs of a conceptual PMO model and adapt them to suit the novel campaign context. Our findings show further evidence for the existance of a ‘gravitational centre’ effect hypothesized in earlier studies. Furthermore, we qualify the concept of PMO through a long‐term focus and a context‐specific evaluation of the merits of alternative PMO profiles. Thus, the generic conceptual model of political market orientatation, which previously has only been used in the content of parties contesting a general election campaign, can be adapted to alternative campaign situations without a reduction in its explanatory power. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The selling of the President 2004: a marketing perspective

Abstract George W. Bush won the 2004 US Presidential election despite the facts of one thousand people losing their life in the Iraq war, the highest rate of increase in unemployment in 70 years and a vitriolic propaganda campaign (Michael Moore, etc.) against him. This case study seeks to explain the success through the prism of marketing theory and conceptual structures, that is, that the Bush team had a superior communications strategy and, within those parameters, superior marketing elements. Thus we seek to surface and integrate a number of causal explanations for his victory that arose from a political marketing orientation, specifically the offer of a ‘coherent narrative’; the conduct of a ‘permanent campaign’; more effective negative advertising (especially by pro‐Bush 527 groups), targeting and packaging; the success of the late campaign ‘big tent’ ploy. None of this however seeks to exclude the more purely political explanations for his success (located in such phenomena as the mobilization of the ‘Christian Right’ and the continuity to the aura attached to the ‘911 President’); nor is the application of marketing thought to political contexts treated uncritically. A further aim is to introduce political marketing modes of analysis to a political science audience—not to present them as a new ‘correctness’, for they are certainly vulnerable to challenge, but rather to precipitate more of an intellectual exchange between these two disciplines. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Antecedents of political market orientation in Britain and Sweden: analysis and future research propositions

Abstract During the last 20 years, political marketing has become a widespread phenomenon around the world. However, most of the research concerning political marketing has been carried out in countries such as the United States and Britain. Thus, in order to understand the antecedents of political marketing, as well as its effectiveness as an electoral strategy, there is a need for comparative research including countries that differ significantly from the U.S. and Britain. One such country is Sweden. Thus, the purpose of this article is to compare and analyze Sweden and Britain with regard to two analytical research questions: (1) What differences are there between Britain and Sweden that might be relevant in understanding why parties choose to be sales‐ or market‐oriented? (2) What are the implications with regards to differences between countries and between parties within countries that might help to explain why some parties in some countries are more likely than others to be market‐oriented? Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Leading or Following?

While research exists on how political parties use political marketing instruments, there is a lack of emphasis on strategic marketing, especially with regard to theoretical frameworks of political marketing orientation. This can be seen as problematic in the development of political marketing research as a subdiscipline of marketing and political science. A concept is suggested that defines a party's orientation towards political marketing management using two crucial elements of strategic marketing theory regarding customer orientation: leading and following. Three generic types of political parties are characterised by their strategic postures using their stance on these two elements. The implications of strategic postures for the fulfilment of certain political marketing functions and organisational issues are briefly discussed. While traditional parties with a rigid content-based approach towards policy-making can be characterised as Convinced Ideologists, contemporary catch-all parties have moved towards being Tactical Populists. Whilst both these postures are prone to being perceived as dogmatic or untrustworthy and fickle, a third posture, that of Relationship Builder, is proposed. This integrates leading and following, by using a relational approach towards marketing, as suggested in the evolving literature on strategic marketing and marketing orientation. This Relationship Builder stance constitutes a theoretical posture that needs to be clarified by empirical research in the political arena. Thus, to foster further empirical and theoretical research, several propositions have been derived in a process that is in line with the demands of theory-building and hypothesis-driven exploration as suggested for this comparatively new discipline of political marketing.