Market Orientation and Company Performance: Empirical Evidence From UK Companies

TLDR

Empirical evidence linking market orientation to performance is scarce and inconclusive, largely based on two US studies. The study aims to extend this limited evidence by examining the market‑orientation–performance link in UK firms. The results show that market orientation’s effect on performance is moderated by environmental factors, being less beneficial in turbulent markets, low customer power, and high technological change.

Abstract

SUMMARY There has been little empirical investigation of a relationship between market orientation and performance, which is assumed to exist in the strategic management and marketing literatures. This limited empirical evidence is equivocal, and is dominated by only two US studies. The overall aim of the study reported in this article was to build on this limited empirical evidence about a relationship, by achieving new insights from another national business culture, namely the UK. Unlike the US evidence, the results from this study suggest that the influence of market orientation on performance is moderated by environmental variables. They suggest that market orientation may not be advantageous in highly turbulent markets, and in conditions of low customer power and high technological change.