Market orientation is best defined as an organization-level culture, a set of shared values and beliefs about putting the customer first in business planning. This book demonstrates the importance of market orientation on organizational culture (the shared set of values for putting customers first), on strategy (the creation of superior value for a firm's customers), and on tactics (the set of cross-functional activities directed at creating and satisfying customers).

Market orientation is best defined as an organization-level culture, a set of shared values and beliefs about putting the customer first in business planning. This book demonstrates the importance of market orientation on organizational culture (the shared set of values for putting customers first), on strategy (the creation of superior value for a firm's customers), and on tactics (the set of cross-functional activities directed at creating and satisfying customers).

The Marketing Science Institute (MSI) has a 38-year history of funding high-profile scholarly research on topics that have managerial significance. MSI′s pioneering work on "developing a market orientation," heretofore only available as a series of working papers, is presented in book form for the first time by Sage Publications, Inc. Market orientation is best defined as an organization-level culture, a set of shared values and beliefs about putting the customer first in business planning. This book demonstrates the importance of market orientation on organizational culture (the shared set of values for putting customers first), on strategy (the creation of superior value for a firm′s customers), and on tactics (the set of cross-functional activities directed at creating and satisfying customers). An illustrious group of authors under the leadership of MSI Executive Director Rohit Deshpandé, (Harvard Business School), has collaborated on this unique and timely book. The wisdom of Developing a Market Orientation should be experienced by all business leaders, scholars, and students.

In the fall of 1990, the Danish government started a comprehensive research pro gramme to improve the competitiveness of the Danish food sector: The Research and Development Programme in the Danish Food Sector (Det F!Ildevareteknologiske Forsk nings- og Udviklingsprogram, F0TEK). The programme was based on a combination of basic research to be carried out by universities and other research institutions, and a series of collaboration projects between researchers and food companies. The programme was originally designed as a technological research programme. However, in the planning phases of the research programme, the view that the development of new technologies and products may not be sufficient to improve competitiveness made some ground. A small comer of the overall research effort was therefore set aside for market-oriented research. This comer was filled by the research programme Market-based process and product innovation in the food sector (MAPP). MAPP was a joint research programme in which researchers from several Danish universities and business schools participated; it was coordinated by the Aarhus School of Business. MAPP set out to achieve a difficult task: to conduct high quality research on various aspects of the marketing of food products, to do so in cooperation with food companies, and to win under standing and recognition from the colleagues in the food technology departments.

This essay attempts to structure a forward-looking approach to the evolving role of marketing in today's economy. Many organisations today recognize the need to become more market responsive in the global and interconnected market in which they operate.