Competitive Advantage

Is your firm market oriented according to the three part definition provided by Narver and Slater? Explain why or why not and how this relates to competitive advantage.

The three-part market orientation definition which includes Customer Orientation, Competitive Orientation and Interfunctional Orientation taken together serve as both a foundation for making companies more customer-driven, yet also as an assessment framework for determining how market- and customer-driven an organization is (Narver, J. & Slater, S., 1990). My firm has strengths in Customer Orientation, with a series of customer satisfaction measures of performance in place that measure of effective post-sales service has been. In addition the focus on getting a solid understanding of the Voice of the Customer (VoC) is also supported through a Customer Advisory Council that my company hosts to understand the needs of all customer segments. In terms of Competitor Orientation, the company I work for is very strong in this regard, with competitive analysis permeating the culture and an Intranet site that has a wealth of competitive data available. In terms of Interfunctional Coordination, the company I work for is average, there is not a strong level of functional coordination to deliver customer value; rather the concentration is on creating stand-alone superstar products that carry other divisions financially.

The triad of Customer, Competitor, and Interfunctional Coordination that comprise the definition of a market-oriented culture (Narver, J. & Slater, S., 1990) are essential for competitive differentiation and competitive advantage. Further, the combining of these factors contributes to an organization becoming more agile and capable of responding to market conditions. The essence of competitive advantage is in aligning internal strengths or core competencies with external market opportunities while minimizing threats (Christiansen, C., 2001).

References

Narver, J. & Slater, S. (1990). The effect of a market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54/4, 20-36. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from EBSCO Host database.

Christiansen, C. (2001) the past and future of competitive advantage. MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter: 105-109. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from EBSCO Host database.