Although the merits of maintaining a market orientation have been extensively discussed in the literature, studies examining the empirical link between market orientation and performance have shown mixed results. The authors explore the relative performance effects of various dimensions of market orientation using a longitudinal approach based on letters to shareholders in corporate annual reports. Furthermore, the authors examine the relative effects of alternative strategic orientations that reflect different managerial priorities for the firm. The authors also extend previous work by considering the mediating effects of organizational learning and innovativeness on the orientation-performance relationship. The results show that firms possessing higher levels of competitor orientation, national brand focus, and selling orientation exhibit superior performance. Strategic orientations are the guiding principles that influence a firm's marketing and strategy-making activities. They represent the elements of the organization's culture that guide interactions with the marketplace, both with customers and competitors. Research in marketing has focused almost exclusively on maintaining a market orientation, based on the adoption and implementation of the marketing concept. A market orientation is not the only viable strategic orientation, however. Many successful firms have followed a production orientation, based on the belief that production efficiencies, cost minimization, and mass distribution can be used effectively to deliver quality goods and services to the consumer at attractive prices. Another alternative, a selling orientation, is based on the view that consumers will purchase more goods and services if aggressive sales and advertising methods are employed. This approach emphasizes short-term sales maximization over long-term relationship building. Contrary to the market orientation-or-nothing view that has generally been offered in the literature, we explore these alternative perspectives and their effects on company performance in a longitudinal study of major competitors in a single industry.For marketers, the emphasis that has been placed on the antecedents and consequences of maintaining a market orientation is not surprising. The main tenets of this viewcustomer-oriented thinking, market analysis and understanding, and the imbedding of the marketing concept throughout the organization-are some of the truly fundamental principles in the discipline. The attributes associated with the successful practice of other strategic orientationsproduction efficiencies, cost minimization, and "hard sell" tactics-are either outside the realm of marketing or, in the last case, in the domain of what many would consider ethically questionable marketing. Nevertheless, ignoring these or other alternative orientations in our research does not mean that they are not viable and potentially lucrative business approaches.Within market orientation research, certain empirical challenges have arisen. The fundamental assumption t...

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Increasingly, consumers use the internet as a vehicle for pre-purchase information gathering. While technical specifications and potentially biased selling points can be gleaned from corporate web sites, online brand communities are becoming essential conduits for the customer-to-customer (C2C) sharing of product information and experiences. This study develops and tests a model of online C2C communications in developing desirable online brand community outcomes. Two studies were used to test the model. In Study 1, a netnography technique was employed and conversations between brand community members were coded and combined with survey data to test the research model. In Study 2 an experiment was conducted to further test the sequence of events in our base model. Our findings show that online brand communities are effective tools for influencing sales, regardless of whether these communities reside on company-owned or independently-owned websites. In addition, we demonstrate interesting asymmetrical effects, whereby the positive information shared by community members has a stronger moderating influence on purchase behavior than negative information. Further, we find that online brand communities are effective customer retention tools for retaining both experienced and novice customers. These findings highlight the need for all firms to carefully consider their online community strategies.

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Product design is increasingly being recognized as an important source of sustainable competitive advantage. Until recently, the domain of design has been loosely categorized as ''form and function'' issues. However, as this paper will explore, product design deals with a much richer range of issues, many of which have not been considered in the marketing literature. To explore the domain and elements of design, the paper begins with two major goals: (1) to elicit the key dimensions of design and to develop an enriched language for the understanding and study of design; and (2) to integrate the design dimensions within a broader model that ties initial design goals to eventual psychological and behavioral responses from consumers. To achieve these ends, grounded theory development is used by conducting an extensive literature review, in-depth interviews, and an interactive object elicitation technique. Drawing from this rich source of qualitative information as well as diverse literature fields, a framework is proposed for the creation of design value in consumer products. This framework not only explores the domain of design but also highlights the important elements of design that go well beyond the cliche´d form and function issues. The resulting model reflects specific marketplace and organizational constraints that may help or impede the conversion of designer goals to so-called design levers. These levers are used to convey three types of values to consumers: rational, kinesthetic, and emotional. The framework then explains how and when these different values may be perceived by the consumer. Within this framework, testable research propositions and specific directions for future design-based research are also offered. Beyond its potential to spur marketing and new product development (NPD) management thought, the framework offered here represents a significant contribution to the field of design, which has historically been represented as a highly fragmented body of knowledge. Formalizing this framework should help overcome perhaps the largest obstacle to date to marketingrelated and NPD-related research in this area-the lack of a detailed and consistent nomological view of the scope of design dimensions including testable linkages. Design has become an important tool that can be used by managers to develop dominant brands with lasting advantages. This research lends the NPD manager and the marketing manager better insights in into how this increasingly popular focus can be used to influence consumer behavior and firm success.