PurposeTo investigate the practice of market orientation, with a specific focus on the extent to which Nigerian marketers place emphasis on the different dimensions of market orientation, customer satisfaction, competitiveness, market intelligence, and assessment of the effectiveness of the strategies adopted.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a contextualized and literature‐based research instrument to measure the applications of market orientation “constructs” by 697 small and large manufacturing and service companies operating in Lagos State of Nigeria. The research instrument showed encouraging evidence of reliability and validity. Data were interpreted by factor analysis.FindingsIt was found that market orientation is practised to a reasonable extent among the surveyed companies, and tentatively concluded that market orientation practices were related to the category of business (service versus manufacturing) and its size. The principal focus was on the gathering, interpretation and implementation of market intelligence, and on measuring the effectiveness of the outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are limited to some extent by the confounding effect of variation within and between types of firm and industry sectors, and the use of respondents' own assessments of performance (i.e. respondents' evaluations of organizational effectiveness with regard to market orientation practices). The Nigerian setting and cross‐sectional design limit the generalizability of the findings to other contexts/environments. Continuing research is under way to address these limitations.Originality/valueExpands the body of knowledge about market orientation in practice by extending an established research formula beyond the usual context of developed western economies, and thereby potentially contains lessons for practitioners and researchers in other developing countries.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine political marketing with regard to its different conceptualisations and dimensions, and to suggest cognate areas for empirical research efforts, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach -Perspectives from relevant extant literature on meaning and dimensions of political marketing are examined, and empirical examination of these perspectives in developing countries suggested. Findings -It was found that political marketing has many conceptualisations and dimensions, and its practice may be coloured by environmental issues, especially in developing economies with weak democratic infrastructure. Research limitations/implications -Empirical investigations of political marketing in developing economies, as suggested in this paper, may be constrained by secrecy, lack of secondary data, and aparty on the part of relevant party executives, among others. Practical implications -Party executives will benefit from the conceptualisations and dimensions documented in this paper. In addition, researchers and students in the areas of marketing and political science will find the research agenda a fertile ground for empirical research effort. Originality/value -This paper should be of value to political party executives, electoral commissions, educators and students of marketing and political science, in addition to government executives interested in relating beneficially with their citizens and other relevant stakeholders.

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The work is an evaluation of consumerism activities in Nigeria with specific interest in the food and drink industries. It considered the growth and challenges to consumerism, the impact of the non-active nature of consumerism on the health and environmental standard of the country. Data generated based on the use of sets questionnaire were analyzed using analysis of variance statistical tool. Findings include that the inactive nature of consumerism in Nigeria contributes significantly to the exploitative attitude of manufacturers, explicitly through high price of products and implicitly by the debasement of the environment through improper management of residues (waste), resulting to poor health and environmental standard. Solution among others is that firms by suasion should be encouraged to adopt marketing concept philosophies, principles, policies and strategies for the maximization of corporate goal, consumer welfare (satisfaction) and macro economic development of the society.

This paper proposes a research plan to investigate the research methods issues (i.e. research design, sampling methods, data collection methods, data analysis techniques, measurement scales, and reliability/validity tests, among others) used in business students’ thesis/dissertation works in institutions of higher learning. Specifically, the proposed research aims to help in understanding the dominant research methods used by thesis/dissertation research students in the field of business management in institutions of higher learning, shed light on possible relevant research methodology issues in business management education and proffer managerial and theoretical recommendations that will assist research methodology in business disciplines in institutions of higher learning. Among other things, the proposed investigation is expected to help in assessing the quality and relevance of business research works in higher institutions; assist in repositioning business education curricula to align with academic, regulatory and industry expectations; improve the quality and relevance of research works undertaken in business schools in institutions of higher learning; and stimulate research in cognate areas.