بازارگرایی و عملکرد در صنعت خدمات: تحلیل پوششی داده ها

The relationship between market orientation and performance is a cornerstone in the market orientation literature. However, few empirical studies applying objective performance measures raise concerns about whether or not the most market-oriented firms are the best performers. This article reports a study testing the market orientation model using a multi-method approach to measure performance. The study applies two objective performance measures–relative productivity, calculated by data envelopment analysis (DEA) and return on assets (ROA)–and one subjective performance measure-perceived profitability compared to key competitors. Building on empirical data from the hotel industry, the results indicate that market orientation has only a modest effect on relative productivity and no effect on return on assets. The strongest effect of market orientation on performance occurs when applying the subjective performance measure.

The market orientation literature argues that products should reflect market demand and changes in consumer preferences (Slater and Narver, 1995). Market orientation explains how the knowledge about and responses to market demands are related to business performance. Empirical studies indicate a positive link between market orientation and various outcome variables, like financial performance, innovativeness and organizational learning (e.g., Baker and Sinkula, 1999, Greenley, 1995, Han et al., 1998, Jaworski and Kohli, 1993, Narver and Slater, 1990 and Ruekert, 1992). Despite these findings, other research has produced mixed results concerning the relationship between market orientation and performance (Noble et al., 2002). In particular, when researchers apply objective performance measures, significant effects of market orientation on performance are difficult to find (Piercy et al., 2002). Market orientation research relies heavily on perceptual or subjective measures, including subjective performance measures. This makes it difficult to advance rigorous analyses of how marketing costs may affect performance (Langerak, 2001). Despite its importance for marketing scholars and practitioners, theoretical and empirical understanding of the impact and value of the costs associated with market orientation is modest (e.g., Anderson et al., 2004 and Rust et al., 2004). A fair criticism is therefore that knowledge is still limited concerning the costs of developing market-oriented firms and the corresponding benefits, and furthermore, more reliable and valid empirical measures should be developed. This study tests whether or not the level of market orientation explains variations in firm performance. The aim is to identify the best performers in a sample of firms using data envelopment analysis (DEA). DEA is a method for measuring and comparing the productivity of a sample of firms. DEA calculates productivity as the ratio between input resources and output results (Banker et al., 1984 and Bhargava et al., 1994), and the outcome of the analysis is an identification of the most productive or efficient firms in the sample. Linking the productivity ratio to market orientation provides a test of whether the most productive firms are the most market-oriented. An accounting-based performance measure (return on assets) and a subjective, psychometric performance measure (perceived profitability compared to key competitors) are also included. This results in a test of the link between market orientation and firm performance using a combination of subjective and objective performance measures.

The results show that the relationship between market orientation and performance is not straightforward. There is some effect of market orientation on performance when using the subjective performance measure, while the effect is rather marginal when applying objective performance measures. This replicates other market orientation studies that suggest a positive effect of market orientation on performance when using subjective performance measures, but little or no effect when applying objective performance measures. None of the market orientation variables have any impact on the accounting-based performance measure, and although the validity of accounting-based measures as indicators of performance may be doubtful, such measures are widely used for assessing and comparing company performance. Furthermore, only one of the competitor orientation variables affects productivity. As most previous studies of market orientation rely on subjective performance measures, this study questions any direct effect of market orientation on business performance. Any direct effect may result from the fact that company informants may overstate both their performance (Noble et al., 2002) and their evaluation of how they manage the company. The inclusion of productivity as a performance measure seems to be a fruitful step in developing more valid performance measures. DEA calculates the relative efficiency in a sample of companies, and the method compares and benchmarks companies on the basis of the same input and output factors. This identifies the best companies and measures the level of inefficiency for specific companies relative to best practice. This technique solves many of the common biases entailed in using psychometric performance measures and accounting data. This benchmarking technique also paves the way for a broader perspective on how companies can become market oriented. Furthermore, DEA can be a useful tool for companies in assessing an optimal degree of market orientation. Identification of best practice cases defines a benchmark level of performance throughout an industry, within a larger network of organizations, or within a service or retail chain, and managers can learn and imitate methods for obtaining the best possible utilization and combination of input factors in order to adapt to market demand and output levels. DEA may also indicate why some firms perform inefficiently (Majumdar, 1998). The technique can therefore provide important information and guidelines, and improve managerial knowledge of market orientation as a process (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990). For example, by using the DEA approach within a hotel chain, the identification of the best cases may provide excellent opportunities for educating and training the management of less efficient hotels. The best cases might have discovered new customer needs before other hotels, or how to serve customer needs with fewer resources. DEA can contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms by which market orientation may actually lead to better performance (Guo, 2002 and Han et al., 1998). DEA can thus be a useful approach in the market orientation process. This study uses a convenience sample of hotels based on the Dunn and Bradstreet database. Since it tests the market orientation–performance link from a theoretical perspective, the data come from a homogeneous sample of organizations (one industry), reducing the number of uncontrollable factors that often creates noise in cross-industry studies. However, since less attention is paid to the question of the representativity of the sample, caution must be exercised in interpreting the results, and the study's results are not necessarily generalizable to the hotel industry as a whole or to other industrial contexts. The service research literature argues that service quality relates directly to performance and profitability (e.g., Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004 and Zeithaml et al., 2006). The exclusion of service quality in this study may therefore be a limitation. Aaker and Jacobson (1994) report a positive relationship between stock return and changes in quality perceptions, and Rust, Subramanian, and Wells (1992) find that service complaint management impacts customer retention. Other studies suggest that service quality mediates the relationship between market orientation and performance (Caruana et al., 2003, Raju and Lonial, 2001 and Webb et al., 2000). One explanation for the limited effect of market orientation on performance in this study may be that service quality has a stronger impact on performance than market orientation in the service industries. Future studies elaborating the role of market orientation in the service industries should include service quality, compare the relative impact of service quality and market orientation on performance, and investigate how they relate to each other. This study provides a framework for a multi-method approach to cultivating market orientation in firms. The investigation shows how DEA and a best case benchmarking perspective may add value to further research and be a helpful device for management.