Effects of market orientation on the behaviors of salespersons and purchasers, channel relationships, and performance of manufacturers

This study uses data from matched sets of suppliers, manufacturers and customers to examine the influence of the manufacturer’s market orientation on the behaviors of salespersons and purchasers, the impact of these behaviors on relationships with customers and suppliers, and the effect of these relationships on the manufacturer’s financial performance. The results show that market orientation positively influences customer-oriented behaviors of salespersons and supplier-oriented behaviors of purchasers. The behaviors of salespersons also have a positive effect on the customer’s trust in, cooperative norms in, and satisfaction with the relationship with the manufacturer. The behaviors of purchasers positively affect the supplier’s trust and cooperative norms in the relationship. The customer’s perception of trust, cooperative norms, and satisfaction positively influences the manufacturer’s financial performance. The supplier’s trust and cooperative norms in the relationship also positively affect the manufacturer’s financial performance. An important managerial implication is that the manufacturer is partly dependent upon the behaviors of purchasers and salespersons for using market orientation to build and maintain channel relationships. This implication provides ample opportunities for further research on market orientation. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.