Understanding the patterns of market orientation among small businesses
Purpose To assess the patterns of market orientation within the small business sector.Design/methodology/approach After a pilot study involving interviews with owner managers, and covert and overt observation of small businesses' marketing practices, depth interviews by telephone and face to face were conducted in one state of the USA. Data, collected in the form of protocols and means end maps for individual owner managers, were analyzed by inductive reasoning.Findings The study confirmed the appropriateness of the market orientation framework for the small business sector. Findings included a distinctive "marketing style" (strong emphasis on customer care and employee welfare; motivation; and market intelligence) related to size of the firms surveyed, the personality of the owner manager, the available resources and the nature of the operating environment. Despite absence of a formal approach to market research and marketing planning, this "style" was found to have a positive effect on margins and.