Study builds on previous research conducted in Australia that attempts to measure marketing orientation in schools. The focus of this study is on two schools in China.

Background

Market orientation has been investigated in for-profit and not-for-profit organisations in many countries around the world. Market orientation is defined as an orientation to the market which has a focus on the customer.  The research shows that there is a positive link between market orientation and organisational performance. Despite these findings there is little research on the relationship between market orientation and school performance. The instruments that measure market orientation are related to educational organisations.

This research investigates two Chinese schools located in the North-East to find out to what extent they are market-oriented. The research will examine two different types of school and compare the results. One school is a private market-driven school. The other is a public school. In general market-orientation is an important factor that contributes to organisational success (including schools). Previous research shows that organisations that are market orientated perform higher than those organisations that are non-market oriented. Market-orientation is conceptually different to 'marketing'; however, the two terms are often confused and lead to a misunderstanding. This study will look at both 'marketing' and 'market-orientation'. The concept of ‘market-orientation’ and ‘marketing’ has become important within the Chinese context because there is now fierce competition among schools. The investigation will adopt a case study approach using a mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative methods.

This study investigates follows up studies conducted in Australia on market orientation in school and investigates two schools in north-east China. An instrument was designed to measure market orientation in schools and tested in the two schools. The study also conducted qualitative research to triangulate the results. The schools represented two different sectors- government and private schools. The results confirm validity of the instrument and support the qualitative findings.

The study also attempts to evaluate an instrument that will measure market orientation in schools.

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