Market orientation and performance in private universities

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to explore the market orientation of the private universities in Bangladesh. The study further aims to investigate the relationships between market orientation and business performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were collected from the faculty members of business and non-business schools of the 15 private universities in Bangladesh. A total number of 314 faculty members were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Reliability, convergent and discriminant validity issues of the data were assessed and outcomes of these confirm the reliability and validity for the data used for the study. Findings – Direct entry regression was used in order to identify the relationships between market orientation and its performance. Four performance measures – student growth, market share, teaching and service quality – and overall performance were used to investigate their relationships with market orientation. All four measures were found to be statistically significant and positively related to the market orientation of the private universities in Bangladesh. Originality/value – The findings of the study support the theoretical arguments that the universities can be successful in attaining their business performances by initiating and adopting market oriented activities. The study further argues why it is so critical for a private university to be market oriented and how this market orientation can be attained.