Oscar DeShields

The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Performance: A Study of Small-Sized Service Retailers Using MARKOR Scale

Conventional marketing wisdom holds that a market orientation provides a company with a better understanding of its customers, competitors, and environment, which subsequently leads to superior firm performance. While researchers have explored the relationship between market orientation and business performance in different organizations, such studies in small‐sized service retailers are scarce. This study investigates potential influences of market orientation on small‐sized service retailer performance. Data for this study were collected through personal interviews, and Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumars market orientation scale was used to specify the dimensions of a market‐oriented organization. Results indicated that Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumars market orientation scale provided a good measure of market orientation in this setting. Also, the results of analyses indicated a significant link between market orientation and small‐sized service retailer performance. The managerial implications are discussed.

The Agony and the Ecstasy: Current Status of Hispanic Individuals’ Achievement in Higher Education and Earnings—With a Glimpse to the Future

Some projections about Hispanic individuals point to a rosy picture regarding gains in higher educational enrollment. Other studies lament that these gains are, at best, minimal. Although the so-called higher education pie is undoubtedly expanding, this article concludes that Hispanic adults are losing, rather than gaining, educational attainment when compared to Black and White adults.