A Contingency Approach to Market Orientation: Distinguishing Behaviours, Systems, Structures, Strategies and Performance Characteristics

Comparatively little attention has been devoted towards the identification of different manifestations of market orientation. The aim of this paper is to explore and describe the distinguishing behaviours, systems, structures, strategies and performance characteristics of of market orientation in different situations. The paper begins with an overview of existing research into the market orientation construct, including an analysis of attempts to conceptualise and operationalise the market orientation construct. Thereafter the limited amount of research into differing forms of business orientation and market orientation is presented and reviewed critically. After a discussion of the-two phase research design and methodology adopted in the study, the results of three in-depth case studies are presented including the development of a propositional inventory. Thereafter, the analysis of responses to a mailed questionnaire survey is presented and discussed. The evidence leads to a series of implications and conclusions for practitioners and theorists.