MARKET ORIENTATION AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN SERVICE FIRMS IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Market orientation has been considered an important precondition for the realization and improvement of profitability, and customer satisfaction. Conceptual account suggests that market oriented firms differ from their more internally focused rivals who maintain an ad hoc, reactive, constrained and diffused stance toward their commercial environment. The ability of the market oriented firm to outperform its less market oriented competitors is based on the premise that the former can create long term superior value for the firm’s customers in comparison with the latter. However, the fundamental question arises as to whether market orientation has been instrumental for the business firms to develop their relationship marketing practices. Therefore, the major objective of this study is to examine the relationship between market orientation and relationship marketing practices in services firms in Sri Lanka. A sample of 42 service firms was randomly selected from the registry of the Colombo Stock Exchange-2007. Unit of analysis was the services firms while the proxies were the managers of the selected service firms. Self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect the data. Measurements of the constructs were developed at priory. The study discloses that the degree to which the services firms in Sri Lanka practice the RMKT varies irrespective of the nature of the service firm and that a strong association between market orientation and relationship marketing practices exists. Accordingly the recommendations were made to improve both the market orientation and relationship marketing practices in Sri Lankan service firms.

Key words: Market Orientation, Relationship Marketing and Strategic Orientation

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk