پیاده سازی بازارگرایی در شرکت های صنعتی: مطالعه موردی چندگانه

The literature on market orientation is silent on the process of change involved in moving firms to a market orientation. Understanding this process is important for commodity sellers or industrial organizations with a traditional sales focus. We examine the change programs of two New Zealand-based agricultural organizations. Drawing upon Lewin's three-stage change process model (unfreezing–movement–refreezing) we identify that the creation of a market orientation involves uncovering long-held assumptions about the nature of commodity products, the nature of production and marketplace power, and the ‘commodity cycle’. Moving the firm towards a new set of values involves changes in the role of leadership, the use of market intelligence, and organizational learning styles. To refreeze these values, supportive policies are needed that form closer relationships between the organization and the marketplace. The degree of refreezing affects the quality of market orientated outcomes, with less effective refreezing leading to sub-optimal market-oriented behaviors.

The development of a market orientation will lead to a number of positive performance outcomes (Baker and Sinkula, 1999, Harris, 2000, Kennedy et al., 2003, McNaughton et al., 2001 and Weerawardena and O'Cass, 2004). Although research has shown that business-to-business firms are less likely to adopt a market orientation than business-to-consumer firms (Avlontis and Gounaris, 1997, Gounaris and Avlontis, 2001 and Weerawardena and O'Cass, 2004), this same research also identifies that the relationship between market orientation and performance is stronger for industrial companies than for business-to-consumer firms. To date no studies have examined the implementation of a market orientation in business-to-business firms. As many business-to-business firms have been shown to adopt a sales orientation (Avlontis and Gounaris, 1997 and Gounaris and Avlontis, 2001) the implementation of a market orientation is likely to be difficult, and require top–down revolutionary change to long-held practices and beliefs (Narver, Slater, & Tietje, 1998). Despite the identified importance of a market orientation to firm performance, the implementation of a market orientation is an issue that has remained largely unexplored in the literature (Day, 1994, Harris, 2000, Jaworski and Kohli, 1996, Kennedy et al., 2003 and Narver et al., 1998). Harris (2000, p. 619) stated, “the topic of ‘market orientation’ will remain perplexing to theorists and continue to be illusive for practitioners” unless studies start to examine the processes and dynamics of developing a market orientation. Narver et al. (1998) identified two paths for organizations to move towards a market orientation, although no empirical research has examined the process of change associated with adopting a market orientation. To date, only one study has examined the implementation of a market orientation (see Kennedy et al., 2003). Kennedy et al. (2003) identified three strategies — leaders' support for change, interfunctional coordination, and the use of market intelligence, as assisting with the implementation of a market orientation. However, they did not focus on the actual process of change involved in adopting a market orientation. Such a focus would advance our knowledge substantially as it would identify practical implications for marketing managers and the importance of different support strategies at different stages in the change process ( Narver et al., 1998). Although the change management literature is replete with advice on the process of change per se, none addresses the specific processes involved in moving towards a market oriented culture; a focus which involves specific subtleties for marketing researchers (cf: Kennedy et al., 2003). This article addresses the process of change involved in moving towards a market orientation in two New Zealand-based agricultural cooperatives. This responds to calls for in-depth studies of firms that, with or without success, have been involved in market orientation implementation efforts (Day, 1994, Jaworski and Kohli, 1993 and Slater and Narver, 1995), and extends current research by examining the implementation of a market orientation in new contexts (Kennedy et al., 2003). We address two research questions: (1) How do firms deliberately change to a market orientation? (2) What strategies are most effective during different stages of the change process in relation to affecting a market oriented culture? The article has the following structure. First, we review aspects of market orientation including issues of implementation. Second, we review various change theories, placing emphasis on Lewin's (1951) three-stage model of planned change. Third, we provide details on the two cases developed for this study. Fourth, we present the findings. Finally, we identify theoretical and managerial contributions.

This article addressed two questions. First, we identified that Lewin's (1951) planned change model captured the dynamics of adopting a market orientation. Secondly, we combined planned change theories with the limited research on implementing a market orientation. We posited that leadership, the form and use of market intelligence, the form of interfunctional coordination, learning style and challenges would change across the three phases of unfreezing, movement, and refreezing. Based on a comparison of two cases, we identified how the role and importance of these variables changed across the three phases of the change process (see Table 4). This was supported with real time industry data, providing the first examples of the process of change towards market orientation. As such, this article both identifies new insights, and extends extant theory by building on the results of Kennedy et al. (2003) and Narver et al. (1998).The adoption of a market orientation by the cases illustrates the complex and often politicized process involved in implementing marketing programs. To implement a market orientation, the marketers studied had to overcome a lack of influence and formal power. As a result they formed coalitions with key stakeholders, used market research to influence organizational members, and had to continue to build and sustain support for a market orientation throughout the change process. To date, little emphasis has been placed on marketers political role within firms even though this is necessary to implement marketing programs. Future research needs to examine how marketers effectively implement strategies given that they often have little direct authority over functional areas critical to the implementation of market orientation.