Understanding Of Market Orientation Research Articles

Market orientation practices of Ethiopian seed producer cooperatives

The practices of market orientation are context-specific. This paper focuses on the concept and practices of market orientation in Ethiopian seed producer cooperatives (SPCs). Based on 44 semi-structured interviews with experts and practitioners (SPC leaders and member farmers), we identify key market orientation elements in the SPCs’ context. Market orientation criteria in the Ethiopian SPC context could meaningfully be grouped into five underlying dimensions: quality of produce, business organization, external orientation, value addition activities, and supplier access. The understanding of market orientation by practitioners, particularly by member farmers, is limited to quality seed production. There is considerable recognition among respondents of the importance of customer orientation in the SPC context. Information on produced seeds, market prices, and profits is considered important. Information on competitors, although recognized by experts as important, is not really gathered by SPCs. Experts believe that the SPC committees should be responsible for information dissemination, but in practice, there is also an important role for the SPC chairman personally. Market-oriented practices in SPCs contribute to increasing employment and productivity and ensuring food security. Policymakers should devise strategies to support SPCs in becoming more market-oriented and successful in their business ventures. Specific market orientation practices by SPCs are discussed in detail.

When Marketing Dare Not Speak Its Name: Understanding Market Orientation in Chinese NGOs

ABSTRACT The market orientation construct has proven to be of value to profit-seeking firms. It ought to be of value to NGOs too. Some previous research has been done to facilitate understanding of market orientation in NGOs, but the methodologies used have mostly been quantitative, and nothing is known about the market orientation of Chinese NGOs. To address this research gap, a qualitative case study methodology was used to develop a deeper understanding of how market orientation is practiced among NGOs in Hong Kong (China). Mapping with previous studies, the research found that three factors together explained the varying degrees of market orientation in the NGOs studied: senior management factors, organizational and institutional factors, and structural and system factors. But more importantly, an NGO’s funding base was found to moderate the relationship between these antecedents and an organization’s market orientation. The more that the NGO relies on public funding or a small number of funders the weaker the influence of the antecedents on market orientation. The more that the NGO relies on private funders, a diversified group of funders, or self-funding, the stronger the influence of the antecedents on market orientation, and the closer its understanding of market orientation is likely to be to that of a commercial entity. The article finishes with a substantive theoretical model for market orientation in the Chinese NGO context.

Development of Market Orientation for Marketing Strategy Formulation

The formulation of marketing strategy is augmented with the firm making efforts to develop market orientation. Market orientation is the ability of the firm to “orient” its marketing strategy to the requirements of the market and continually re-orient its marketing strategy to the changes that occur in the market and business environment. The paper examines the nature of market orientation through literature review and outlines the meaning of the types of strategic thrusts, with specific focus on introducing a new position of competitive advantage called “market mechanisms.” The paper then postulates aspects of enabling reorientation of marketing strategy to keep up with changes in the market and business environment. The paper then extends the understanding of market orientation in extant literature by outlining the details of accommodating the convergence between the business purpose of firm orientation and the business purpose of value creation that encapsulates the firm-customer relationship or the market. An empirical section on certain “orient” aspects is laid out. Implications for marketing strategists are discussed.

Pengaruh Orientasi Pasar, Intellectual Capital, Dan Orientasi Pembelajaran Terhadap Inovasi Studi Kasus Pada Industri Hotel Di Jawa Timur

The purpose of this study was to examine direct and indirect efects of the market orientation, intellectual capital, and learning orientation of the managers on innovation as well was as hotel performance. This study was done at in four and fve star hotels in East Java. The respondents were General Manager or Executive Members. The respondents were 180 managers of the 23 four and fve star hotels in East Java. It was examined by using SmartPLS 1.01 and reliability was checked using SPSS program Version 14.00. The study showsed that there were signifcant relations between the ability of the managers in understanding of market orientation, intellectual capital, learning orientation on innovation and hotel performance. The performance of four and fve hotels performance in East Java is increased when market orientation, intellectual capital, learning orientation and innovation are increased. Those four variables thoroughly infuence hotel performance by 76.4%.

Learning about customers

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to gain a better understanding of how small technology start‐ups learn about a key customer in the context of B2B relationships, and to propose a model of interfirm learning with customers.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative case‐based approach, the authors immerse themselves in the development of three learning alliances between technology startups and industry leaders, two successes and one failure, to gain an in‐depth understanding of the dynamics involved. Data were collected on both sides of the alliance dyad.FindingsThe paper delineates four learning cycles: alliance inception, joint‐learning, specialization and discovery. These learning cycles constitute sequences of increasing understanding, cooperation, and higher order learning between the partners; evolving from an exchange of existing knowledge to the joint development of new knowledge.Originality/valueThis study contributes to an integration of the alliance and marketing literatures by offering empirical evidence of a different type of alliance, namely the reciprocal learning alliance. It also contributes to broadening our understanding of market orientation in inter‐organizational settings. In the context of business‐to‐business relationships, the study has identified four critical dimensions of learning alliance success, and proposed how they could be measured: Learn about customers; Interact with customers; Customer‐specific investments; and Co‐develop breakthrough innovations. Finally, the study demonstrates the significant role played by “committed champions”.

Market Orientation Practices in Family Business Owner: The Generation Gap Perspective

In the hyper-competition, every business organization, including family businesses have been demanded to develop the sources of competitive advantage. Some previous researches proved that market orientation has positive effects toward business performance and marketing competency. Market orientation as the culture plays important role to motivate employees throughout the organization to place the highest priority on the profitable creation and maintenance of superior customer value. Recently, as the internet technology has been recognized as the key business resources, the marketing effort must be integrated it, but unfortunately some of the old generation of the family business owner not concern about it. Is it any awareness and commitment gap in market orientation practice between old and young generation of the owner of family business? The objective of this research is to explore the awareness and the commitment of the owner to adopt market orientation and how to linkage it with internet technology. Research involved small family business owners in east Java. The research found that the understanding of market orientation in young generations is further and more comprehensive than the old generation. The young generation have many ideas and program to utilize internet as e-commerce linked with market orientation. They perceived that the company must relate the traditional face to face interaction via technology interface. From young generation perspective it is necessary for the management to extent of internet usage in marketing activities.

Market orientation and enterprise policy

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the merit of enterprise policies that seek to enhance market orientation as a driver of firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of empirical research utilising the MKTOR survey instrument, administered to senior marketing managers in high‐value‐added sectors in Ireland; and both subjective and lagged objective measures of firm performance.FindingsFindings support international context‐specific research. Market orientation is not found to be directly associated with firm performance in high‐value‐added firms in the Irish economy.Research limitations/implicationsResearch directions should include the evolving understanding of market orientation, and the exploration of what alternative orientations lead to improved performance in different contexts.Practical implicationsFor public policy, a re‐examination of the conceptualisation of, and support for, market orientation is warranted.Originality/valueThe paper presents a new contribution to understanding the merit of market orientation in enterprise policy in developed economies.

Market orientation processes in retailing: a cross‐national study

PurposeThe main purpose is to provide an in‐depth understanding of market orientation in retailing and to identify the specific activities that have to be understood and managed in order for a retail firm to become market oriented.Design/methodology/approachQualitative studies of six firms in Sweden, Italy and the UK were carried out, including in‐depth interviews with retail managers and manufacturers.FindingsThree market orientation processes on different operational levels are identified, including critical activities that support each process. Linkages between retail market orientation and different background characteristics are also identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe qualitative, in‐depth approach using a limited number of respondents means that the results are not generalizable. The findings can serve as a basis for future operationalizations of retail market orientation in order to measure the degree of retail market orientation as well as its character with regards to the emphasis a certain retailer puts on each of the processes.Practical implicationsThe identified three processes and the corresponding activities can assist retailer managers in developing a more systematic market orientation approach.Originality/valueThe paper is a first attempt to develop a framework for market orientation in retailing based on the specific nature of retail marketing and management. It also shows that the quality and relevance of the market data in relation to the specific strategic activity that it is expected to support should be given much more consideration.

The relationship between resource dependence and market orientation

PurposeThis article sets out to examine the market orientation construct within the context of the non‐profit sector. Given the specificity of non‐profit organisations and the increasingly demanding resource environments in which these organisations operate, the adoption of the concept of marketing is viewed as an adaptive strategy for ensuring that organisations receive the necessary resources for accomplishing their missions and carrying out their activities. In line with this, the present article aims to investigate the extent to which the type of revenue strategy is related to the organisation's market orientation, towards donors and/or users.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from a resource dependence conceptual framework, the article reports findings from a quantitative study of a representative sample of Portuguese non‐profit organisations (NPOs). This approach was complemented by qualitative research methods. Combining these two approaches has given access to different levels of reality and provided a more holistic understanding of the phenomena under study.FindingsThe results from the present study demonstrate that Portuguese NPOs favour a market orientation towards users/beneficiaries, revealing a less proactive behaviour in relation to their donors. In the present study, the resource dependence theory has proved to be an important theoretical tool for understanding market orientation strategies within the non‐profit sector. The link between the type of resource strategy and the organisation's market orientation stands out as an important finding derived from the present study and is particularly visible in relation to donor market orientation. In addition, empirical data partially support the conclusion that diversification of revenue sources is likely to favour a higher degree of market orientation. Further refinement of the adequacy of the MARKOR scale within the context of the non‐profit sector stands out as an avenue for further research.Research limitations/implicationsAs the sample used for analysis was drawn from Portugal, the generalisability of the results to other countries remains to be tested.Practical implicationsThe findings of the present study may assist public policy‐makers in the design of more adequate policies in the allocation of resources to non‐profit organisations.Originality/valueThe study contributes to a better understanding of market orientation in the specific context of the non‐profit sector. Moreover, this is done through applying the market orientation scale to two different stakeholders (i.e. donors and users/beneficiaries) in the evaluation of market orientation and in its relationship with resource strategies.

Managers’ understanding of theoretical concepts: the case of market orientation

Managers are frequently exposed to abstract, theoretical concepts, of which some are attended to while others are neglected. To become meaningful for managers, new abstract concepts must be reflected upon and given content. In this paper, we explore how and to what extent managers understand and make use of the exemplar concept of “market orientation”. The reported findings indicate that managers’ understanding and use of the concept of market orientation, in their goal‐directed effort to perform, are influenced by the actual context in which they are embedded and operate. Our findings also indicate that managers’ understanding of market orientation can deviate substantially from the meaning reflected in the academic literature.

On Closeness to the Customer in Industrial Markets

ABSTRACT Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of academic and practitioner interest in the way companies interact with their customers. While there has been considerable scientific progress in the understanding of market orientation and buyer-seller relationships, limited attention has been given to the concept of closeness to the customer. Specifically, there has been no valid measure of the construct as a whole. This paper reports the development of a valid 28-item measure (called CLOSCUS) for assessing industrial firms' closeness to the customer. The development of the scale is based on a literature review, field interviews as well as statistical analyses of two independent samples from different sides of the buyer-seller dyad. Results indicate that seven factors underlie the 28 items. These are related to product, service, and process quality (two factors), flexibility in dealing with customers (one factor), and the way of interacting with customers (four factors), respectively. Based on the CLOSCUS scale, closeness to the customer is shown to impact on a customer's commitment, trust, and satisfaction. It is also demonstrated that closeness to the customer is both conceptually and empirically distinct from market orientation which contradicts some marketing researchers' prior statements. The paper concludes with some experiences from applications of the scale in a number of German companies.

External moderation of associations among stakeholder orientations and company performance

A recent survey of the treatment accorded to the stakeholder concept across the business administration literature [Donaldson, T., Preston, L.E., 1995. The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evidence and implications. Academy of Management Review 20, 65–91.], concluded that there is an implicit assumption that stakeholder orientation is positively associated with company performance, but that this assumption has not been empirically tested. In the marketing literature studies [Kohli, A.K., Jaworski, B.J., Kumar, A., 1993. MARKOR: A measure of market orientation. Journal of Marketing Research 30, 467–477; and Slater, S.F., Narver, J.C., 1995. Market orientation and the learning organization. Journal of Marketing 59, 63–74.], of the association of the market orientation with performance, also concluded that empirical evidence is needed about wider stakeholder orientation and performance, to expand our understanding of market orientation. The study reported in this article provides such evidence from a sample of UK companies. The theory tested addresses stakeholder orientation to consumers, competitors, employees, and shareholders, the potential association of these orientations with company performance, and potential moderation of these associations from the external environment. The results indicate that stakeholder orientation per se is not associated with performance per se, but that different types of stakeholder orientation are associated with different measures of performance, and that these associations are moderated by the external environment.