Market orientation

Considering students expectations and rivalry among higher education institutions, novel practical ways through adaptation of market-oriented mechanisms as well as business mechanisms in higher education are required. The present paper, therefore, aims to examine mechanisms for positioning in Iranian higher education. In doing so, phenomenological approach was applied. A purposive sample of 10 informants consisting of higher education experts and deans was selected. To analyze data, open, axial, and selective coding system was applied and the findings were organized under mechanisms for positioning in higher education. With regard to target market in higher education, attracting factors and success factors were yielded. With regard to positioning in higher education, 4 categories were identified including emphasis on relative advantage, emphasis on Basic resource, emphasis on marketing techniques, and emphasis on customers’ perception. Barriers and constraints were categorized under 6 main categories: political, administrative, institutional, cultural and social, economic, and academic. Based on literature and findings, conceptual framework on mechanisms for positioning in higher education was developed. Considering students expectations and rivalry among higher education institutions, novel practical ways through adaptation of market-oriented mechanisms as well as business mechanisms in higher education are required. The present paper, therefore, aims to examine mechanisms for positioning in Iranian higher education. In doing so, phenomenological approach was applied. A purposive sample of 10 informants consisting of higher education experts and deans was selected. To analyze data, open, axial, and selective coding system was applied and the findings were organized under mechanisms for positioning in higher education. With regard to target market in higher education, attracting factors and success factors were yielded. With regard to positioning in higher education, 4 categories were identified including emphasis on relative advantage, emphasis on Basic resource, emphasis on marketing techniques, and emphasis on customers’ perception. Barriers and constraints were categorized under 6 main categories: political, administrative, institutional, cultural and social, economic, and academic. Based on literature and findings, conceptual framework on mechanisms for positioning in higher education was developed.

Organizations enter international competitive markets because of different motivations such as: gaining international fame, long-term growth, increasing profitability, taking advantages of economies of scale, maturing domestic market, the intensity of competition in a domestic market, governmental rules and regulations; but actually, all of the companies aim to export performance improvement. According to the oil industry situation in Iran's vision, the 4th paragraph of general energy policies and, not having a comprehensive model of Iranian oil products export performance, this research could improve and develop this industry in international markets. This research method is phenomenology and statistical society includes export and marketing managers and experts in the oil industry. Non-probable sampling and snowball sampling method was used in this research. Regarding this qualitative research, semi-structured depth interview was used to gather information and 7 deep interviews were done regarding saturated rule. Structure, internal, interpretive and descriptive validity were used in order to Validation; for surveying reliability, revision while coding and surveying by another informed person were used to insure correct coding. After open, axial and selective coding and using Atlas.ti qualitative software, suggested antecedents of Iranian oil products export performance includes: market orientation, company resources, marketing mix, macro environment and items of Iranian oil products export performance includes: financial performance, customer satisfaction and customer retention. Most of the previous studies have focused on positivism and quantitative research methodology while we used the qualitative method in this research.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has been affected by economic sanctions imposed by Western countries especially the U.S. Since 2006 and with increasing Iranian nuclear standoff with the P5+1 group, the United Nations has frequently imposed economic and financial sanctions against Iran. As a result of these international restrictions and their management by an international organization, Iran's exports have been heavily reduced. Given the sanctions on the oil industry in Iran and the lack of a comprehensive model of export performance of Iranian petroleum products in the sanctions period, this research can help improve and develop this industry in international markets. The research method is phenomenological and the statistical population includes export and marketing managers and oil industry experts. Non-probable sampling and snowball sampling methods were used in this research. In this qualitative study, semistructured in-depth interviews were used to gather information, and 7 in-depth interviews on saturation law were conducted. Structural, internal, interpretive, and descriptive validity were used for validation. For surveying reliability, revision while coding and surveying by another informed person were used to ensure correct coding. This research uses a qualitative study to determine the effect of returning sanctions on the export performance model of Iranian petroleum products. After open, pivotal, and selective coding and the use of Atlas quality software, the background of Iran's oil products export performance in sanctions is market orientation, company resources, marketing mix, macro environment, and items of Iranian oil products export performance in sanction includes: financial performance,customer satisfaction and customer retention in sanction situation. Most of the previous studies have focused onpositivism and quantitative research methodology while we used the qualitative and mixed-method in this research. 

The important role of leadership in management of today's organizations has been emphasized for many years by executives and experts in the field. The role of knowledge in leading organizations is prominent. This study aims to examine the role of the knowledge-Oriented Leadership in market orientation that seeks to achieve innovation. Market orientation (MO) lies at the bottom of modern marketing thinking and practice. Although research has shown that MO contributes to firm performance through innovation implementation, an understanding is lacking on how the dimensions of MO (customer orientation, competitor orientation, and inter-functional coordination) may have differential effects on innovation, especially in the sales force context. As a survey research, data were gathered through a structured questionnaire with a sample of 92 executive-level employees employed in ISPs in Mazandaran province. SEM was used to examine the standard error of the estimate and t-values. Findings suggest that knowledge-oriented leadership has a positive effect on innovation implementation by mediating of market orientation. Interestingly, innovative organizational culture was found to have mediated the relationship between Knowledge-oriented leadership and innovation implementation of the ISPs in Mazandaran. Moreover, results indicate that effect of sales force market orientation on sales performance is fully mediated by innovation implementation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of market orientation on the job attitudes of employees in sports stores in Mazandaran, IRAN. This research was a descriptive-correlational and applied study. The statistical population consisted of all employees in Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, and Majid sports store. Based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the research sample included 200 subjects. Standard questionnaires were used for data collection. Linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) with Spss18 and Lisrel version 8.3 software have been used to investigate the research hypotheses. According to the research findings, market orientation affects employees' attitudes toward the sports stores and market orientation explains 69 percent of the variance of job attitudes. Moreover, market orientation components were effective on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, role conflict, and turnover intention. Market orientation components were also effective on job attitudes of the sports store employees. Therefore, the special attention to market orientation in promoting productivity, satisfaction and increasing commitment of employees, can be critical in achieving the goals and strategies of sports stores.

Today, the sports industry is known through modern technology, especially in the field of manufacturing sports tools and equipment. The present study uses correlation and applied methodology, which was done in the field using Structural Equations Modeling (SEM). The statistical population included producers of sports products, of which 320 producers from Iran were considered through available sampling. Morris (2002) Standard Entrepreneurial Marketing Questionnaire, Moghimi Market Orientation (2011), Noh and Fitzsimmons Information Technology (1999), and Azizi (2011) Financial Performance Questionnaire were used to collect data. Finally, 292 questionnaires were received physically and electronically. The results showed that entrepreneurial marketing and market orientation had a direct and indirect effect (mediated by technology) on financial performance and they significantly affected the financial performance. Finally, the model had the goodness of fit. In general, manufacturers who adopted a combination of entrepreneurial marketing strategy and information technology had better and more rational financial performance by taking advantage of attractive entrepreneurial opportunities. According to the research results, it is suggested that manufacturers provide the consumers with superior value by paying attention to the market orientation and innovation, to enable the company to achieve a competitive advantage.

Introduction: The purpose of the current study is analyzing the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of market orientation and technological innovation on business performance of companies producing saffron in Iran. Material & Methods: The current study is of descriptive-correlational type, in terms of nature, and it is at the level of applied-developmental studies, in terms of objectives. The statistical population of the study includes the managers and employees of 58 companies which are members of the union, out of which 232 individuals who had the ability to answer the questions were selected, and by referring to the Morgan Table, the sample size was determined to be 144 individuals. Considering the higher number of questionnaires distributed, 147 questionnaires were taken into consideration for analysis, and the hypotheses of the study were analyzed by employing the statistical test of partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results: The findings of the study showed that the market orientation and technological innovation significantly affect the business performance. Moreover, the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of market orientation on the business performance was proved; however, the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of technological innovations on the business performance was not proved. Conclusion: Considering the statistical results, the variables of market orientation and technological innovation, and also the moderating role of ethical leadership in market orientation positively affect the business performance of companies, but the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of technological innovations on the business performance was not proved

Market orientation is the ability of appropriate response in complex conditions of the market and that is the most fundamental issue in the marketing and business literature. In fact, market orientation is considered as a practical marketing application. market orientation enables companies to learn about customers, competitors and environmental factors continuously within the existing and potential market. One of the best ways to extract significant relationships among data is to use data mining algorithms. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between learning orientation and market orientation by association rules and data mining. after sampling, 132 questionnaires have been used for data analysis. After data collection the relationship between learning orientation components (commitment to learning, shared vision and open mindedness) and market orientation (customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination) was explored. Learning orientation is one of the factors that plays a key role in organizations’ market orientation. the relationship between learning orientation components including commitment to learning, open mindedness and inter-functional coordination was investigated using data mining. The findings showed that commitment to learning, shared vision and open mindedness lead to customer orientation, commitment to learning and open mindedness lead to competitor orientation and commitment to learning and shared vision lead to inter-functional coordination.