About AMA

Executive Summary
In this article, Kuada and Buatsi argue that the transition of firms from non-market-oriented dispositions to that of market orientation is a difficult process, particularly for developing country–based firms with no prior market-oriented business cultures. However, the increasing liberalization of developing economies and their integration into the world economy make it important for managers in these countries to understand the determinants of market orientation and the approaches they can adopt to improve the degree of market orientation of their firms. Therefore, Kuada and Buatsi explore the extent to which Ghanaian firms have been able to make this transition and how management practices have influenced the transition process. The study was based on the market orientation framework that Jaworski and Kohli proposed in 1993.

The results of the study suggest that Jaworski and Kohli’s framework can be applied in developing countries, such as Ghana. That is, firms that show strong top management commitment to market-oriented philosophy and reward their employees on the basis of their degree of customer orientation become more market oriented. The results also show that the adoption of market-oriented dispositions depends on significant human-resource development, organizational restructuring, and reallocation of resources within a company.

Building on the understanding that market orientation is an organizationwide responsibility, Kuada and Buatsi argue that the top management of firms in developing countries must make efforts to decentralize the firms’ decision-making structures; to improve the skills, competencies, and authority of middle-level managers; and to empower frontline staff to gain insights into customer problems and needs and to respond to them adequately and promptly. Without top management commitment to market orientation, such firms may acquire the “trappings” of market orientation but may remain non–market oriented at the core.

Biography
John Kuada is Associate Professor of International Management, Department of Business Studies, Aalborg University.

Seth N. Buatsi is Senior Lecturer in International Marketing, School of Administration, University of Ghana.