Market orientation: an option for universities to adopt?

Abstract

• The primary objectives of this exploratory paper are to test the concept of market orientation adapted from related literature in the education context and to examine the effects of market orientation as a second-order factor on university student satisfaction. The revised scale, validated through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, constitutes a good fit. Specifically, the new scale is statistically and positively related with student satisfaction, indicating that market orientation is an important factor that leads to higher student satisfaction. The findings show that the degree to which students are satisfied with their choice of university depends significantly on how market oriented the university is. In other words, the effective application of market orientation strategy relates to student satisfaction and to the decisions they make when selecting a university. To that end, market orientation is an option for universities to adopt. The empirical results add to the meager and emerging literature on marketing and branding of universities and will be of interest of university administrators and marketing and branding managers of universities. The paper concludes by discussing conclusions, implications, limitations, and future research.

A social capital approach of market orientation in public non‐profit organizations: The case of blood transfusion centers in Spain

“…Therefore, our work advances and contributes by verifying the application of a MO in the blood donation sector, and by proposing an ad hoc scale adapted to blood donation, as suggested by the authors in the field of non‐profit marketing. Thus, we have contributed to the stream in marketing literature focused on adapting key marketing constructs to different environments and contexts (e.g., Tran et al, 2015). Particularly we try to respond to recent calls in the literature to adapt the concept and measuring of MO to fit non‐profit organizations (e.g., Hersberger‐Langloh, 2022; Valero‐Amaro et al, 2019).…”

“…Therefore, we consider that DO in the blood donation context will consist of intelligence generation related to donors and non-donors; intelligence dissemination throughout the organization; and actions taken to implement programs that address this key stakeholder group (Balabanis et al, 1997). Thus, this paper is in line with the stream in marketing literature focused on adapting key marketing constructs to different environments and contexts (e.g., Tran et al, 2015). On these lines, researchers such as Hersberger-Langloh (2022), Korunka et al (2007) and Parker et al (2007) state that the concept of MO should be adapted to fit non-profit organizations that offer products and/or services to satisfy social needs or non-profit goals.…”

“…Based on the ideas above, since market (donor) orientation seems to be core in BTCS management aimed to get current donors' retention and, in turn, new donors' engagement, the following question arises: What organizational climate in terms of relationship dynamics inside the BTCS would strength their employees' donor orientation? The research on MO state that a hallmark of a strong MO is the inter‐functional collaboration (Morris et al, 2007; Tran et al, 2015), that is, the coordinated use of organizational resources in creating superior value for target customers (Narver & Slater, 1990). In this paper we will adopt the concept of coordination offered by Zafonte and Sabatier (1998), who define it as “the spectrum of activity in which one party alters its own […] strategies to accommodate the activity of others in pursuit of similar goals.” This concept of coordination includes different actions such as “information exchange, monitoring and aligning behavior, as well as developing, communicating, and implementing a common plan of action” (Calanni et al, 2015, p. 902).…”