The Impact of Alternative Market Orientation Strategies on Firm Performance: Customer versus Competitor Orientation

Research studies have differed over the importance of the relative emphasis of a customer versus competitor orientation in the development of a market orientation (Slater and Narver, 1994; Tajeddini, 2010). In this study, we assess whether the emphasis of one component over another of a market orientation is an important determinant of firm performance within the Illinois beef industry, specifically the cow-calf sector. Using a series of OLS regressions, we examine the importance of a market orientation, relative emphasis, learning, innovativeness, and a cost focus on firm performance. Our results suggest that a market orientation is an important determinant of firm performance while the relative emphasis of customer versus competitor orientation is not statistically significant, corroborating the findings of Slater and Narver (1994). Implications and directions for future research are also discussed.