Understanding the forces that affect the market orientation of three diverse teams : a mixed-methods, longitudinal study

Abstract

Prior research has shown a relationship between market orientation and business performance. Relatively little research, however, has focused on antecedents to market orientation. Additionally, insufficient market orientation research has been conducted at the team level, specifically on new product development and customer teams, the groups closest to new product launches, which are critical to organizational success. There is also insufficient research on how a group’s market orientation might change over time. Lastly, most past studies have used data collected from one or two employees to assess the market orientation of the entire organization. It is not clear how perceptions of market orientation might differ among employees, based on their role within the organization. This research seeks to address these gaps.

This research presents the findings from data collected over three years from three teams in the same organization. The teams’ market orientation is viewed through three different lenses: the MKTOR scale developed by Narver and Slater, one-on-one interviews, and network analysis. The research presents a substantive theory that explains the data collected from all three teams and from all three data sources. The data suggests that market orientation is the coordinated effort to gather, disseminate, and respond to information in order to maintain and increase business with the customer, thus supporting an integration of the two primary conceptualizations of market orientation. Throughout the process the team faces ambiguity on many fronts, and the team must deliberately manage this ambiguity in order to be successful. Managing ambiguity, however, is not the same thing as eliminating ambiguity as resource limitations and team size restrict how much ambiguity can be removed. Clarifying communications, including developing a shared understanding of customer targets, serve to remove ambiguity in the team.