Effect of customer orientation and innovativeness on business performance: a study of small-sized service retailers

While researchers have explored the relationship between customer orientation and innovativeness with business performance in different organisations, such studies in small-sized service retailers are scarce. This study investigates potential influences of these two variables on small-sized service retailer performance. Data for this study were collected through personal interviews from 174 Swiss small-sized service retailers to examine the interrelation between innovativeness, customer orientation and service business performance dimensions (i.e., profit goal achievement, sales goal achievement and ROI achievement). The findings are mixed with prior research, but provide a new insight by exploring customer orientation and innovativeness, and how these factors impact upon the performance of small-sized service retailers. In the light of existing literature, the implications of our findings for service managers and owners, the study's limitations and future research directions are subsequently addressed.