Market orientation, job satisfaction, product quality, and firm performance: Evidence from China

This article examines the processes by which market orientation (MO) affects performance using a cross-level approach. The results of a survey of 2, 754 employees from 180 firms in China show that organization-level MO culture leads to unit-level MO behavior, which improves employee-level job satisfaction and then product quality, which in turn fosters organizational performance. In particular, MO behavior fully mediates the effects of MO culture on employee satisfaction, product quality, and organizational performance. Leadership quality strengthens the effect of MO culture on unit-level MO behavior. Moreover, MO behavior enhances firm performance indirectly through employee job satisfaction and product quality. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.