Market Orientation in Higher Ed 1 Running header: MARKET ORIENTATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION A Market Orientation In Christian Higher Education

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a market orientation may be beneficial in Christian higher education. The literature on market orientation has shown that high performance firms display innovativeness, organizational climates of openness, trust, an extremely organizational-oriented culture, and a high degree of market orientation (Deshpande and Farley, 1999). Much of the market orientation research to date has focused on manufacturers and service firms both domestically and internationally. Competitive and financial pressures encountered by Christian liberal arts colleges are requiring them to pay close attention to the market and streamline their operations in order to survive