earticle

영어

A number of studies have examined the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Leadership style has provided an important insight into market orientation. However, despite the importance of the effects of top management leadership on organizational market-orientation in industrial market, few have researched the causal effect between top management leadership and market orientation. This article examines the causal relationship among top management characteristics, market orientation, and business performance, and whether employee characteristics moderate ,fully or partially, the causal relationship using structural equation model in the context of industrial market selling steel material. Support is found for a number of hypothesized structural relations. The findings show that (1) three dimensions of top management leadership (strategic vision, sensitivity to employees' needs, taking personal risk) have significantly positive impact on market orientation, (2) the other two dimensions such as sensitivity to the environment and unconventional behavior don't influence significantly on market orientation, (3) market orientation has significantly positive effect on business performance, and (4) employee characteristics such as department(sales/non-sales)has moderating effects on paths both top management leadership→market orientation and market orientation→business performance. Some implications for enhancing business performance in industrial market are briefly discussed.