An examination of the consequences of market orientation in China

Abstract

Recent literature suggests that the relationship between market orientation and business performance may be moderated by the nature of the external environment. While the conceptual arguments for such a relationship are well established, empirical evidence on the precise nature of this link has been both limited and ambiguous. The current paper provides further evidence on the nature of the links between market orientation, the environment and performance through a comparative analysis of two business sectors in China with distinctively different competitive environments. The results indicate that market orientation's impact on business performance is positive regardless of environmental conditions. However, the environment is found to moderate the relationship between market orientation and customer satisfaction. Finally, the study provides evidence that market orientation also has positive impacts on power in distribution channels and corporate social responsibility.

Investigating market orientation and positioning in star-rated hotels in Ghana

“…Crosssectional data were used in the study to collect information from executives because it is the most common technique and provides inexpensive, quick, accurate and efficient means of collecting information about a population (Robson, 2002;Zikmund and Babin, 2010). The executives at these hotels who are exposed to strategic decisions of these hotels were engaged in the study (Qu and Ennew, 2003). Subjective scales of hotel performance (customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer retention) were used in measuring business performance (Qu and Ennew, 2003;Urde et al, 2013).…”

“…Hotels can also grow with a more customer-oriented approach like market orientation and positioning that can enhance hotel performance (Tajeddini, 2010). Although, there are contributions on hotel market orientation (Qu and Ennew, 2003;Sin et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2012) and hotel positioning (O'neill and Mattila, 2006;Lee and Back, 2010), these studies do not purposefully consider the complementary effects of market orientation and hotel positioning. This study therefore examines the joint effects of market orientation and positioning on the performance of star-rated (luxury) hotels in Ghana.…”

“…According to Zhou et al (2009), hotels are now paying close attention to the delivery of superior customer value to achieve better performance. An investigation into market orientation of hotels may improve the overall understanding of the market orientation concept in a service context (Qu and Ennew, 2003;Sin et al, 2005), particularly in developing economies like Ghana. Owing to the changing nature of Ghana's hotel landscape with the opening of an increasing number of multinational hotel chains in Ghana, and the fact that hotel growth can often be used as a proxy for tourism growth, the Ghanaian hotel sector provides a good context to explore how market orientation is adopted and practiced.…”

“…Market orientation is a well-researched concept (Qu and Ennew, 2003;Sin et al, 2005;Altinay, 2010;Wang et al, 2012Mahmoud, 2016, with scholars arguing that the hotel sector's utilization of marketing and its practices is slow compared with other commercial service sectors such as banking, insurance or retail distribution (Sin et al, 2005). According to Zhou et al (2009), hotels are now paying close attention to the delivery of superior customer value to achieve better performance.…”

Beliefs of senior managers and their influence on market orientation: an Australian owner-managed, vertically-integrated horticultural enterprise perspective

“…To determine whether the relationship between market orientation and organisational performance is moderated by the nature of the external environment, Qu and Ennew (2003) found that degree of competitive intensity and market turbulence had little if any impact on the relationship. The research also found a positive relationship between degree of market orientation and customer satisfaction and corporate social responsibility.…”