Market orientation and business performance : A framework for service organizations

Market orientation is one of the major research streams in strategic marketing developed during the past ten years. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the major thrust of research in market orientation has been to study the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Although it is acknowledged that market orientation and performance are likely correlated, this paper directs attention to what may lie beneath the relationship. From both conceptual and empirical perspectives, it is argued that future research should focus on the mechanisms by which market orientation contributes to performance. To this end, we draw on the gap analysis literature and develop a framework to link market orientation and performance for service organizations. This simple framework will help shape future agendas for service research.