Transition to a Market Orientation:in China Preliminar: Preliminary evidence

Purpose – The research objective was to assess the challenges of transition that firms face in
adopting a market orientation in China, as the basis for providing a context-specific explanation of
market orientation.
Design/methodology/approach – A sample from the He Bei Light Industry Directory was selected
by the systematic-selection-from-lists procedure. The survey instrument was adapted from the widely
used MARKOR scale.
Findings – Although some of the early results are consistent with those obtained in the West, an
underlying lacuna needs to be addressed in order for a useful culture-sensitive interpretation of market
orientation to be offered vis-a`-vis locale-specific knowledge.
Research implications/limitations – While there can be little doubt that market orientation
delivers superior performance in developed western economies, implementations in many
transition-economy contexts reveal a range of paradoxes, which point to some gaps in both the
theory and practice of marketing.
Originality/value – A useful explanation of market orientation in transition economies should
necessarily embed an approach that accommodates the institutional peculiarities of the environment
under study, focusing the temporal, spatial and wider socio-cultural and historical characteristics of
marketing itself.