eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

Objective of the study:

The purpose of the study is to view market orientation (MOR) from the perspective of customer relationship management (CRM) work. The investigation focuses on determining the relationship between MOR and CRM activities as well as the benefits and challenges of market orientation in CRM. The chosen research approach allows viewing market orientation as part of company business processes in a way that adds to existing knowledge on the phenomenon.

Research method:

The research is a qualitative, exploratory case study. The data was gathered with theme interviews in the case company. Data analysis was conducted with the help of thematic analysis.

Findings:

The main findings of this research are the following: First, the CRM process seems to mediate the performance effects of market orientation and needs to be accounted for in the MOR research. Moreover, market orientation appears to be a process input that supports conducting certain CRM activities. Second, there are business-to-business context related factors that might affect the choice between the market-driven and market driving approach to MOR. Furthermore, these factors should be accounted for when estimating the performance effects of market orientation. Third, impediments related to market intelligence dissemination might be one of the most crucial challenges when infusing market orientation into CRM work. In addition to these theoretical contributions, managerial implications for enhancing market orientation in CRM work are discussed.