THE IMPACTS OF MARKET ORIENTATION ON DESIGN PERFORMANCE:

Evidence from Japanese Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

The marketing behavior of a product development organization has a significant impact on both the process and performance of product design. However, existing research has not sufficiently identified the types of marketing behaviors that most affect design performance. This study focuses on the strategic behaviors of product development organizations as they relate to their market response and clarifies their effect on product design performance. Specifically, the study examines the concept of market orientation, first dividing it into three types (responsive customer orientation, proactive customer orientation, and competitor orientation) and then differentiating three stages of market development (fluid stage, transitional stage, and specific stage). Using the results of a questionnaire survey of Japanese manufacturing companies, we investigate the ways in which each type of market orientation impacts design performance at each stage of market development. It was found that the effects of the various types of market orientation on design performance vary with the stage of market development.