Market orientation and performance: A comparative Study of private and public universities in Kenya

The purpose of the study is to explore whether there are significant differences between private and public universities in terms of market orientation components. The study examines whether there is a significant difference between customer focus, market intelligence, competitor orientation, inter-functional coordination and performance of universities in Kenya. Comparative studies on market orientation and performance of Public and Private Universities in Kenya, have been studied in many settings over the past several years and specifically none in Kenya. The research adopted descriptive research design on Public and Private Universities in Kenya. Primary data were collected from 115 respondents using a survey questionnaire administered to staff and students of both private and public universities in Kenya. Respondents were sampled using stratified sampling and purposive sampling method. Market intelligence generation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination are significant for both private and public universities, while customer orientation was insignificance in both universities. The results of the study indicate that there are significant similarities between private and public universities. In addition it implies that universities have embrace market oriented activities towards students’ satisfaction, students’ retention, student growth and increase of number of programmes. This paper puts forward market orientation practices which can inform policies and guide other academic institutions that would want to meet their students’ needs and services. The paper introduces the concept of market orientation for those institutions who may have not embrace the market-oriented practices in university sector in Kenya.