Stanley F. Slater

Market orientation and the learning organization.

Effective organizations are configurations of management practices that facilitate the development of the knowledge that becomes the basis for competitive advantage. A market orientation, complemen...

Does competitive environment moderate the market orientation-performance relationship?

Recent studies have shown evidence of a positive relationship between market orientation and performance. However, some scholars have suggested that competitive environment could moderate this rela...

Management Influences on Export Performance: A Review of the Empirical Literature 1978‐1988

During the last decade a substantial number of empirical research studies on export performance have been conducted. This article reviews 55 of these studies, summarises the findings according to a “strategic export model”, synthesises current knowledge, and suggests directions for future export research activities.

The Positive Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability: A Balanced Replication

Abstract Narver and Slaters (1990) finding of a positive relationship between market orientation and business profitability is retested in a broad sample of product and service businesses operating in a variety of industries. The assessment of the extent of market orientation is provided by the chief marketing officer, and profitability is assessed by the general manager, thus avoiding the problem of common respondent bias. The analysis of the influence of culture on business performance is extended by including a measure of entrepreneurial orientation in the study. The influence of a market orientation on business profitability is then compared with that of an entrepreneurial orientation. The regression coefficient for market orientation (.662) is higher in this replication than in the original study (.501), and the pairwise correlation coefficient for the relationship between market orientation and profitability is very similar in both studies (.362 and .345, respectively). No relationship is found between entrepreneurial orientation and business profitability. Thus, by drawing a sample from a more diverse population, avoiding the common respondent bias problem, and comparing the effect of a market orientation to that of an entrepreneurial orientation, the findings from this balanced replication increase confidence in the importance and generalizability of the market orientation–profitability relationship found in the 1990 Narver and Slater study.

The Performance Implications of Fit Among Business Strategy, Marketing Organization Structure, and Strategic Behavior

Adopting a contingency perspective, the authors present and test a fit-as-moderation model that posits that overall firm performance is influenced by how well the marketing organizations structural characteristics (i.e., formalization, centralization, and specialization) and strategic behavioral emphases (i.e., customer, competitor, innovation, and cost control) complement alternative business strategies (i.e., prospector, analyzer, low-cost defender, and differentiated defender). Responses from 228 senior marketing managers provide support for the model and demonstrate that each strategy type requires different combinations of marketing organization structures and strategic behaviors for success.

Developing a customer value-based theory of the firm

ConclusionJust as it was inappropriate to characterize this as the development of a new theory of the firm, it also is premature to suggest that this commentary articulates a comprehensive customer value-based theory of the firm. The foundation for this theory was laid decades ago, and the ideas presented in this commentary must be more thoroughly developed before it can appropriately deemed a “theory of the firm.” However, as marketers, we should be committed to the proposition that the creation of customer value must be the reason for the firm’s existence and certainly for its success. Thus developing this theory further and testing the propositions that comprise it should be a high priority for marketing scholars.

Information Processing, Knowledge Development, and Strategic Supply Chain Performance

Little is known about why some supply chains perform well while others do not. Drawing on the knowledge-based view of the firm and theory from the information processing and organizational learning...

Creating a Market Orientation

A market orientation is a business culture in whichall employees are committed to the continuous creation of superiorvalue for customers. However, businesses report limited successin developing such a culture. One approach to create a marketorientation, the approach taken by most businesses, is the ’’programmatic‘‘approach, an a priori approach in which a business uses educationprograms and organizational changes to attempt to implant thedesired norm of continuously creating superior value for customers.A second approach is the ’’market-back‘‘ approach, an experientialapproach in which a business continuously learns from its day-to-dayefforts to create and maintain superior value for customers andthereby continuously develops and adapts its customer-value skills,resources, and procedures. Theory suggests that both approachescontribute to increasing a market orientation. It also suggeststhat when the a priori education of the programmatic approachis sharply focused on providing a foundation for the experientiallearning, the combined effect of the two learning strategiesis the largest. The implication is that the two strategies mustbe tailored and managed as a coordinated joint strategy for creatinga market orientation.

Strategy type and performance: the influence of sales force management

The basic premise of the strategy implementation literature is that different business strategies require different configurations of organizational practices to achieve optimal performance. Sales force management is a key functional activity and should contribute to the successful implementation of business strategy. In this study, we examine the relationship between multiple sales force management practices and performance within each of Miles and Snows (1978) strategy types. The explanatory power of the eight models tested is quite high (incremental adjusted R2 ≥ 0.25 for six of the eight models). Thus, we find substantial support for the general proposition that the different strategy types require individualized profiles of sales force management practices for optimal effectiveness and that sales force management is important to the successful implementation of business strategy. Copyright

Product‐market Strategy and Performance: An Analysis of the Miles and Snow Strategy Types

The Miles and Snow typology of product‐market strategy is a potential source of rich insights for developing marketing strategy. However, the drivers of performance for the Prospector, Analyser and Defender strategies have not been thoroughly studied. Using multiple measures of the entrepreneurial dimension of the Miles and Snow typology, clusters business units into the Prospector, Analyser and Defender strategy types. Analyses performance variation in the strategy types using organizational and market‐level variables, and find substantial explanatory power.