Does market orientation matter?: A test of the relationship between positional advantage and performance

A recent series of articles in the Strategic Management Journal has discuss ed the potential value of an organization developing a market orientation i n its quest to achieve success. We posit that market orientation can enhanc e success, but that its potential value should not be considered in isolati on. Specifically, we draw on the resource-based view of the firm to suggest that four capabilities - market orientation, entrepreneurship, innovativen ess, and organizational learning-each contribute to the creation of positio nal advantages for some firms. The data used are drawn from 181 large multi national corporations (MNC). The results indicate that positional advantage s arising from the confluence of market orientation, entrepreneurship, inno vativeness, and organizational learning have a positive effect on MNC perfo rmance (five-year average change in ROI, income, and stock price). Overall, the results support the contention that market orientation can enhance suc cess, albeit within the context of other important phenomena. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.