Exploring the dynamics of market orientation in turbulent environments: a case study

Author： Ottesen Geir Grundvåg Grønhaug Kjell

ISSN： 0309-0566

Source： European Journal of Marketing, Vol.38, Iss.8, 2004-08, pp. : 956-973

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Abstract

This paper explores whether and how firms and their management are influenced by two types of environmental turbulence which have only been given scant attention in past research on market orientation, i.e. turbulence due to unpredictable supply conditions and turbulence created by frequent and unpredictable interactions with multiple market actors. The paper reports a case study of one successful firm exposed to these types of environmental turbulence. Here, the focus is on central aspects of the firm's environmental contact over time, including who it interacts with and the informational content and direction of interactions. In this way the authors are able to investigate important aspects of how firms keep in touch with, learn about, and are influenced and restricted in a turbulent environment. The study reveals several intriguing findings. For example, external actors initiated the majority of firm-environment interactions and the firm focuses more on other constituencies than customers. Findings are discussed and implications highlighted.