Abstract

The study examined the effect of market orientation on corporate performance of insurance firms in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study include determining how the various indices of market orientation like customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter functional coordination have influenced the corporate performance of these insurance firms. This study adopted a survey research methodology to examine the market orientation strategies of insurance firms in an attempt to attain their desired performance potential. The hypotheses in the study were tested using Spearman's Rank correlation coefficient (r), multiple regression and partial correlation analyses to determine the strength of relationships and effects of dependent/independent and moderating variables respectively. Fifty two respondents of the insurance firms indicated that there was a positive relationship between market orientation and corporate performance in the insurance industry. The result also revealed that age of the firm and market information system has weakly moderate the relationship. The research findings show that the insurance firms that engage in market orientation recorded progress while those that have not applied this strategy experience low performance. We conclude that only the combination of customer focus, competitor focus and inter functional coordination can drive performance. This study, therefore, is of the view that insurance firms operating in Nigeria should emphasize market orientation if their objectives are to enhance their corporate performance.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the adoption of a brand orientation strategy and customer relationship performance in a small service firm setting. More specifically, in addition to investigating the direct link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance, we further examine the moderating effects of entrepreneurial orientation and perceived competitive intensity on the empirical link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance. To test the hypothesized relationships in the conceptual framework, 105 usable structured questionnaires were collected from small service firms and the data were further analyzed using a hierarchical, moderated regression analysis. The results affirm the positive link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance. Moreover, entrepreneurial orientation is found to strengthen the brand orientation-customer relationship