Integration of Value Chain Position and Porter's (1980) Competitive Strategies into the Market Orientation Conversation: An Examination of Upstream and Downstream Activities

This article reexamines issues surrounding the linkage between market orientation and organizational performance at both conceptual and empirical levels. At the conceptual level, the paper expands the concept of "market orientation," emphasizing the contingent effects played by the organization's positioning along its industry's value chain. Differences in organizational performance are hypothesized to be a joint function of an organization's market orientation and the strategy by which the organization competes. A survey of key informants indicated that market orientation was associated with an organization's value chain position and competitive strategy, but not with organizational performance [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]