ToM Reading Questions and Quizzes
Reading questions topic 1:
1. Slater&Narver defined in 1990 the concept of market orientation. Almost ten years
later, in 1998, they are coming back on this initial idea. Explain what they initially
meant by market orientation and how that changed in their new article in 1998.
1990
“Market orientation is crucial for sustainable superior customer value”
3 dimensions, based on which we can measure how market oriented a company is
- Customer orientation
- Competitor orientation
- Interfunctional coordination – all functions within a company are alligned with the thinking
Companies that excel are customer oriented, competitor oriented and they can put together
new products/services based on the information
1998
From responsive MO (customer-led) to proactive MO (market-oriented)
Instead of looking at consumers’ expressed needs, proactive MO focuses on latent – not yet
expressed needs. While in the responsive MO, focus was on the short-term goals, in proactive
MO companies focus on long-term aims. Instead of mere customer satisfaction, proactive MO
is about creating customer value. The learning type of proactive MO is generative. While
customer-led MO is based on customer surveys, market-oriented MO is observation based.
In proactive MO, focus is on innovation an unserved markets, defined by turbulent
environments.
2. Homburg ea (2017) talk about customer experience management. They quote a CEO
who said: ‘customer experience is the new marketing’. Will CEM make the concept
of market orientation obsolete?
CEM doesn’t make MO obsolete, it just extends the previous concept.
Customers (&environment) are starting point for company success
Differentiation by superior (network) value delivery
!! But many changes in the HOW: marketing management
Companies are still competing by differentiating, but now they are differentiating by
experiences
3. How are the three success factors of over-performing organizations as found by
deSwaan-Arons ea (2022) related to the Market Orientation concept of Narver &
Slater (1990) – is MO still relevant for current (successful) organizations?
- Market orientation is still important to company success nowadays.
Link between MO/findings marketing machine/CEM
, - Customer orientation - we still need customer orientation, but we do it we different
capabilities (now we have big data). Not just measure the data, but also understand
what the underlying need is. Idea is the same, but now we try to understand the full
experience, not just the need.
- Interfunctional coordination – all marketing departments in the company should be
aligned. Whereas now, the whole organization should be aligned.
4. Can you relate the success factors and organizational requirements that deSwaan-
Arons ea (2022) found in their research to the factors that Homburg ea (2017)
identify as key to win the game in customer experience management? What are the
similarities and what are the differences?
- Experiential response orientation – not just focusing in fulfilling the basic need, but the
whole experience around it and how to improve it. Still customer orientated, but
customer as a whole.
- Alliance orientation – sometimes we need to collaborate with competitors, other
companies.
- Touchpoint journey orientation (also external) – not just alignment of the organization,
but collaboration with other partners. It’s good that your organization is aligned, but
if you are also not aligned with others externally, you won’t be as high-performing.
Reading questions topic 1:
1. Slater&Narver defined in 1990 the concept of market orientation. Almost ten years
later, in 1998, they are coming back on this initial idea. Explain what they initially
meant by market orientation and how that changed in their new article in 1998.
1990
“Market orientation is crucial for sustainable superior customer value”
3 dimensions, based on which we can measure how market oriented a company is
- Customer orientation
- Competitor orientation
- Interfunctional coordination – all functions within a company are alligned with the thinking
Companies that excel are customer oriented, competitor oriented and they can put together
new products/services based on the information
1998
From responsive MO (customer-led) to proactive MO (market-oriented)
Instead of looking at consumers’ expressed needs, proactive MO focuses on latent – not yet
expressed needs. While in the responsive MO, focus was on the short-term goals, in proactive
MO companies focus on long-term aims. Instead of mere customer satisfaction, proactive MO
is about creating customer value. The learning type of proactive MO is generative. While
customer-led MO is based on customer surveys, market-oriented MO is observation based.
In proactive MO, focus is on innovation an unserved markets, defined by turbulent
environments.
2. Homburg ea (2017) talk about customer experience management. They quote a CEO
who said: ‘customer experience is the new marketing’. Will CEM make the concept
of market orientation obsolete?
CEM doesn’t make MO obsolete, it just extends the previous concept.
Customers (&environment) are starting point for company success
Differentiation by superior (network) value delivery
!! But many changes in the HOW: marketing management
Companies are still competing by differentiating, but now they are differentiating by
experiences
3. How are the three success factors of over-performing organizations as found by
deSwaan-Arons ea (2022) related to the Market Orientation concept of Narver &
Slater (1990) – is MO still relevant for current (successful) organizations?
- Market orientation is still important to company success nowadays.
Link between MO/findings marketing machine/CEM
, - Customer orientation - we still need customer orientation, but we do it we different
capabilities (now we have big data). Not just measure the data, but also understand
what the underlying need is. Idea is the same, but now we try to understand the full
experience, not just the need.
- Interfunctional coordination – all marketing departments in the company should be
aligned. Whereas now, the whole organization should be aligned.
4. Can you relate the success factors and organizational requirements that deSwaan-
Arons ea (2022) found in their research to the factors that Homburg ea (2017)
identify as key to win the game in customer experience management? What are the
similarities and what are the differences?
- Experiential response orientation – not just focusing in fulfilling the basic need, but the
whole experience around it and how to improve it. Still customer orientated, but
customer as a whole.
- Alliance orientation – sometimes we need to collaborate with competitors, other
companies.
- Touchpoint journey orientation (also external) – not just alignment of the organization,
but collaboration with other partners. It’s good that your organization is aligned, but
if you are also not aligned with others externally, you won’t be as high-performing.
