To-date, confusion still reigns regarding the precise meaning of the marketing concept, and of more strategic importance, the means by which it can be implemented into an organization’s business practices. Such vague terms as “fulfilling wants and needs” and “solving customer problems” provide general guidelines but little specifics as to how the concept can be strategically utilized. This article provides a conceptual definition of a market orientation appropriate to the study of and use by business-to-business marketers. A primary focus is placed on the importance of marketing products which create customer value. Integrating and building upon past research efforts, propositions, appropriate for use in evaluating and measuring an organization’s degree or lack of a market orientation, are developed. The linkage between an organization’s possession of a strong market orientation and its ability to successfully develop and market new products is then explored.
Gordon et al. (Fri,) studied this question.