Strategic role of customer orientation in differentiation strategy and organizational performance nexus: A partial least square (PLS) approach

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the nexus of differentiation strategy and organizational performance with customer orientation as a mediator in setting of the hotel industry in Malaysia. Data were gathered through a survey using mail and email questionnaire with a sample of 60 three to five star hotels. Smart PLS 2.0 (M3) was used to test the hypotheses. Findings suggest that customer orientation mediates the relationship of differentiation strategy and performance. This study is bridging the gap and presenting the importance of strategic role of customer orientation in facilitating differentiation strategy to produce better performance. It also provides several theoretical and practical implications for scholars and practitioners from perspective of this study. © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2014.