INNOVATION, MARKET ORIENTATION, AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING - AN INTEGRATION AND EMPIRICAL-EXAMINATION

Research on market orientation and organizational learning addresses h ow organizations adapt to their environments and develop competitive a dvantage. A significant void exists in current models of market orient ation because none of the frameworks incorporates constructs related t o innovation. The authors present a conceptual framework for incorpora ting constructs that pertain to innovation in market orientation resea rch. Some of the critical relationships in this conceptual framework a re tested among a sample of 9648 employees from 56 organizations in a large agency of the U.S. federal government. The results indicate that higher levels of innovativeness in the firms' culture are associated with a greater capacity for adaptation and innovation (number of innov ations successfully implemented). In addition, higher levels of innova tiveness are associated with cultures that emphasize learning, develop ment, and participative decision making. The authors make recommendati ons for incorporating constructs related to innovation into research o n market orientation and organizational learning.