Revisiting the Psychometric Properties of Market Orientation Framework in an Emerging Economy: a Case-Study of Botswana’S Small Service Firms

Abstract

While much empirical work has centered on market orientation, an investigation of the psychometric properties of Market Orientation (MO) scale items as adapted from Kholi and Jaworski,(1993), in the Botswana context has been under researched. A reliable scale with demonstrated content and convergent validity is developed in this empirical study and the impact of market orientation efficiency on economic and noneconomic performance of service firms is evaluated based on key informant data drawn from sampled service firms in Botswana. Top management emphasis,centralization,market turbulence,intelligence generation,dissemination and responsiveness,business performance,customer satisfaction,technological turbulence,market based reward system,and overall market orientation were found to be reliable and valid antecedents and consequences of market orientation.The study results using factor analysis approach, therefore offer one more robustness in the applicability of MO scale items among Botswana’s small service firms by ensuring that managers use psychometrically valid scale items to generate, disseminate and respond to information with a view to improving performance of small service firms.