Market orientation and nonprofit organizations: Performance associations and research propositions

This paper discusses the concept of market orientation within the context of nonprofit organizations. Three elements of market orientation-market intelligence, intelligence dissemination, and responsiveness-are examined for their association with performance in nonprofit organizations. A conceptual framework is developed which identifies select senior management characteristics, organizational characteristics, and external factors as key determinants of market orientation and subsequent performance of nonprofit organizations. In all, fourteen propositions are advanced for future research. This conceptual work posits that nonprofit decision makers can create a market orientation by focusing on specific organizational and senior management characteristics, and adapting to certain external factors. The ultimate objective is to achieve and sustain organizational performance.