Market Orientation

Abstract

Market orientation is marketing’s explanation of performance differentials and can be viewed as marketing’s contribution to business strategy. Market orientation research was initiated by Kohli and Jaworski (J Market 54:1–18, 1990) and Narver and Slater (J Market 54:20–35, 1990) and has more recently entered the strategic management literature. In general, market orientation is argued to improve a firm’s market-sensing capability, and thus improve market responsiveness, particularly in hostile and unpredictable environments. More nuanced research on the topic reveals that the performance effects of the construct’s main components – customer orientation and competitor orientation – are context-dependent, being affected, for example, by strategy choice and environmental conditions.