Implementing a customer orientation: Extension of theory and application

Application The marketing literature affirms the value of a customer orientation to organizational performance, but it is relatively silent on the implementation of this orientation. This research reports the results of a paired-comparison ethno-graphic study of the dynamics of implementing a customer orientation in a major public school district. Changes at a progressing site are compared with those at a struggling site. The study provides answers to the question of how an organization adopts a customer orientation by refining understanding of the roles of leadership, interfunctional coordination, and the collection and dissemination of customer-focused data in the transformation process. Karen Norman Kennedy is Assistant Professor of Marketing, School o