Market Orientation and Organizational Performance in the Nonprfit Context: Exploring Both Concepts and the Relationship Between Them

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the concepts market orientation and organizational performance for nonprofit organizations. To understand the nature of this link in the nonprofit context the authors discuss and elaborate on the applicability of both concepts to nonprofits. As a result, they develop multidimensional notions of “social orientation” and “nonprofit organizational performance” which fit the specific operating environment of nonprofit organizations engaging in the provision of health and social services and in the field of education. The authors also propose a conceptual framework that relates the latter concepts and present its main underlying propositions. They conclude by suggesting items to empirically measure the constructs and venues for future research.