The Joint Effects of Customer and Competitor Orientation on Marketing Performance: A Case of an Industry Leading Firm in Turkey

Year 2020, , 47 - 71, 31.12.2020

Tarkan Tunç

https://doi.org/10.26650/imj.2020.89.0003

Abstract

The study was conducted in an industry leading company to examine the two dimensions of market orientation (customer orientation and competitor orientation) from the perspective of its sales employees and customers and to explain their relationship with marketing performance. The research data were collected from company’s sales group field employees on the firm side and company’s sales dealer employees on the consumer side. With the research, it was aimed to measure the differences, changes and relations between regions, years, and parties (employee-customer) based on three-year measurements carried out in 7 geographical regions (18 provinces) throughout the country at the scale of an industry-leading company. The first finding points to the significant relationship between marketing performance and customer orientation. The second finding reveals that the firm tends towards customer-oriented behaviors in macroeconomic growth periods and towards competitor-oriented behaviors in recession periods. Another important finding is that the analysis at the level of geographical regions indicates that there are significant differences between regions, but it is understood that this difference is caused by a small number of provinces. In this context, it is possible to say that the country market reflects similar orientation trends in general.

Keywords

Market orientation, Customer orientation, Competitor orientation, Interfunctional coordination, Marketing performance

References

• Alhakimi, W., and Baharun, R., (2009), A Synthesis Model of market Orientation Constructs Toward Building Customer Value: A Theoretical Perspective, African Journal of Marketing Management, 1(2), 43-49.
• Ambler, T., Kokkinaki, F., Puntoni, S., and Riley, D., (2001), Assessing Marketing Performance: The Current State of Metrics, Centre for Marketing Working Paper, 01-903.
• Ambler, T., Kokkinaki, F., and Puntoni, S., (2004), Assessing Marketing Performance: Reasons for Metrics Selection, Journal of Marketing Management, 20(3), 475-498.
• Arlı, E., (2016), Müşteri Odaklılık ve Rakip Odaklılık ile Pazarlama Performansı Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi: Yat Turizmi İşletmeleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma, International Multidisciplinary Congress of Eurasia, IMCOFE, Ukraine, 418-422.
• Bigne, E., Vila‐Lopez, N., and Küster‐Boluda, I., (2000), Competitive Positioning and Market Orientation: Two Interrelated Constructs", European Journal of Innovation Management, 3(4), 190-198.
• Brassington, F., and Pettitt, (2013), Essentials of Marketing, Pearson Education Limited.
• Bulut, Ç., Yılmaz, C., and Alpkan, L., (2009), Pazar Oryantasyonu Boyutlarının Firma Performansına Etkileri, Ege Akademik Bakış, 9(2), 513-538.
• Büyükkeklik, A., Özoğul, B., and Bülbül, H., (2014), Kargo Hizmet Sağlayıcılarında Kalitenin Tüketici Davranışına Etkisi: Bireysel Tüketici Araştırması, Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Dr. Mehmet Yıldız Özel Sayısı, 33-43.
• Cacciolatti, L., and Lee, S.H., (2016), Revisiting The Relationship Between Marketing Capabilities and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Market Orientation, Marketing Strategy and Organizational Power, Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5597-5610.
• Clark, B.H., and Ambler, T., (2001), Marketing Performance Measurement: Evolution of Research and Practice, International Journal of Business Performance Management, 3, 231-244.
• Clark, B.H., (2004), Measuring Performance: The Marketing Perspective, in Business Performance Measurement: Theory and Practice, Andy Neely (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 22-40.
• Çapık, C., (2014), Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışmalarında Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizinin Kullanımı, Anadolu Hemşirelik ve Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 17(3), 196-205.
• Day, G.S., (1994), The Capabilities of Market Driven Organizations, Journal of Marketing, 58(4), 37-52.
• Deng, S., and Dart, J., (1994), Measuring Market Orientation: A Multi-factor, Multi-item Approach, Journal of Marketing Management, 10, 725–742.
• Deshpande, R., Farley, J.U., and Webster, F.E., (1993), Corporate Culture, Customer Orientation, and Innovativeness in Japanese Firms: A Quadrad Analysis, Journal of Marketing, 57, 23-37.
• Dev, C., Zhou, K.Z., Brown, J., and Agarwal, S., (2009), Customer Orientation or Competitor Orientation: Which Marketing Strategy Has a Higher Payoff for Hotel Brands? Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 50(1), 19–28.
• Ekber, Ş., and Ahmadov, F., (2017), Pazar Odaklılık Yaklaşımları: Bir Literatür İncelemesi, Uygulamalı Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 1(1), 33-44.
• Eusebio, R., Andreu, J.L., and Belbeze, M.P.L., (2006), Measures of Marketing Performance: A Comparative Study from Spain, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 18(2), 145-155.
• Field, A., (2017), Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics, Sage Edge , LA.
• Fifield, P. (2007), Marketing Strategy: The Difference Between Marketing and Markets, Elsevier Ltd.
• Frösen, J., Tikkanen, H., Jaakkola, M., and Vassinen, A., (2013), Marketing Performance Assessment Systems and the Business Context, European Journal of Marketing, 47(5/6), 715-737.
• Frösen, J., Luoma, J., Jaakkola, M., Tikkanen, H., and Aspara, J., (2016), What Counts Versus What Can be Counted: The Complex Interplay of Market Orientation and Marketing Performance Measurement, Journal of Marketing. 80(3), 60-78.
• Ghiadi, S., Chroqui, R., and Okar, C., (2020), Marketing Performance Measurement Criteria: Which Measure to Choose? SMALOGresearch, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341611201.
• Gronholdt, L., and Martensen, A., (2006), Key Marketing Performance Measures, The Marketing Review, 3, 243-252.
• Hilman, H., and Kaliappen, N., (2014), Market Orientation Practices and Effects on Organizational Performance: Empirical Insight from Malaysian Hotel Industry, SAGE Open, 4, 1-8.
• Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., and Anderson, R.E., (2014), Multivariate Data Analysis, Pearson Education Limited.
• Hollensen, S., (2015), Marketing management: A Relationship Approach, Pearson Education.
• Homburg, C., and Pflesser, C., (2000), A Multiple-Layer Model of Market-Oriented Organizational Culture: Measurement Issues and Performance Outcomes, Journal of Marketing Research, 37, 449-462.
• Hoyle, R.H., (1995), Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications, SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Hunt, S.D., and Lambe, C.J., (2000), Marketing’s Contribution to Business Strategy: Market Orientation, Relationship Marketing and Resource-Advantage Theory, International Journal of Management Reviews, 2(1), 17-43.
• Hurley, R.F., and Hult, G.T.M., (1998), Innovation, Market Orientation, and Organizational Learning: An Integration and Empirical Examination, Journal of Marketing, 62, 42-54.
• Jonsson P., (2000), An Empirical Taxonomy of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 20(12), 1446-1476.
• Julian, C.C., Mohamad, O., Ahmed, Z.U., and Sefnedi, S., (2014), The Market Orientation–Performance Relationship: the Empirical Link in Export Ventures, Thunderbird International Business Review, 56(1), 97-110.
• Kaiser, H.F. (1974), An index of factorial simplicity, Psychometrika 39, 31–36.
• Keskin, H., (2006), Market Orientation, Learning Orientation, and Innovation Capabilities in SMEs: An Extended Model, European Journal of Innovation Management, 9(4), 396-417.
• Kline, P., (1994), An Easy Guide to Factor Analysis, Routledge, NY.
• Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Saunders, J., and Wong, V., (1999), Principles of Marketing, Second European Edition, Prentice-Hall Europe.
• Kotler, P., Wong, V., Saunders, J., and Armstrong, G., (2005), Principles of Marketing, Fourth European Edition, Prentice-Hall Europe.
• Kohli, A.K., and Jaworski, B.J., (1990), Market Orientation: The Construct, Research Propositions, and Managerial Implications, Journal of Marketing, 54, 1-18.
• Limankrisna, N., and Yoserizal, S., (2016), Determinants of Marketing Performance: Empirical Study at National Commercial Bank in Jakarta Indonesia, SpringerPlus 5:1693.
• Menguc, B., Auh, S., and Shih, E., (2007), Transformational Leadership and Market Orientation: Implications for the Implementation of Competitive Strategies and Business Unit Performance, Journal of Business Research, 60, 314-321.
• Narver, J.C., and Slater, S.F., (1990), The effect of a market orientation on business profitability, Journal of Marketing, 54(4), 20-35.
• Narver, J.C., Slater, S.F., and Tietje, B., (1998), Creating a Market Orientation, Journal of Market Focused Management, 2, 241–255.
• O’Sullivan, D., and Abela A.V., (2007), Marketing Performance Measurement Ability and Firm Performance, Journal of Marketing, 71, 79–93.
• O'Sullivan, D., Abela, A.V., and Hutchinson, M., (2009), Marketing Performance Measurement and Firm Performance: Evidence from the European High‐Technology Sector, European Journal of Marketing, 43(5/6), 843-862.
• Pelham, A.M., (1997), Market Orientation and Performance: The Moderating Effects of Product and Customer Differentiation, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 12(5), 276-296.
• Pleshko, L.P., and Cronin, J.J., (1997), An Investigation into the Relationship Between Consumer Satisfaction, Marketing Performance, and Firm Performance in a Services Environment, Journal of Customer Service in Marketing & Management, 3(1), 7-17.
• Rosmayani, A., Suryana, Y., Suwawihardja, S., and Helmi, A.R., (2016), Influence of Market Orientation and Innovation on Marketing Performance in a Small Industry of Malay Woven Textile Riau Province, Indonesia, International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 4(2), 521-536.
• Ruakert, R.W., (1992), Developing a Market Orientation: An Organizational Strategy Perspective, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 9, 225-245.
• Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., and Müller, H., (2003), Evaluating the Fit of Structural Equation Models: Tests of Significance and Descriptive Goodness-of-fit Measures, Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23-74.
• Shapiro, B.P., (1988), What the Hell is Market Oriented?, Harvard Business Review, 66(6), 119-125.
• Smirnova, M., Rebiazina, V., Krasnikov, A., and Kusch, S., (2012), Adding to the “Missing Link” Perspective in Emerging Economy: The Role of Product Innovation in Russia, In Marketing in the Socially-Networked World: Challenges of Emerging, Stagnant, and Resurgent Markets, 2012 AMA Educators’ Proceedings.
• Sorensen, H.E., (2009), Why Competitors Matter for Market Orientation. European Journal of Marketing, 43, 735-761.
• Stoelhorst, J.W., and van Raaij, E.M., (2004), On Explaining Performance Differentials Marketing and the Managerial Theory of the Firm, Journal of Business Research, 57(5), 462-77.
• Tan, K.C., Kannan, V.R., and Narasimhan, R., (2007), The Impact of Operations Capability on Firm Performance, International Journal of Production Research, 45(21), 5135-5156.
• Yaşlıoğlu, M.M., (2017), Sosyal Bilimlerde Faktör Analizi ve Geçerlilik: Keşfedici ve Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizlerinin Kullanılması, İstanbul Üniversitesi İşletme Fakültesi Dergisi, 46, 74-85.
• Zhu, Z., and Nakata, C., (2007), Reexamining the Link Between Customer Orientation and Business Performance: The Role of Information Systems, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 15(3), 187-203