Table of ContentsBackground of the StudyProblem StatementRelevance of the StudyLimitations of the StudyStructure of the StudyBackground of the StudyThere is a growing interest in the concept of market orientation, because empirical evidence shows that more market-oriented companies achieve better economic and business results. Researchers have widely gathered evidence of the positive effect of market orientation on firm performance. (Narver and Slater, 1990 USA Positive MO-BP relationship). Hurley and Hult (1998) explicitly provided a theoretical framework linking market orientation, firm performance, and innovation, building on Slater and Narver's (1995) account of the relationship between market orientation and business performance. According to Slater and Narver (1995), market orientation improves firm performance only when it is combined with a learning orientation. They argue that because of the external focus on developing information about customers and competitors, the market-driven firm is well positioned to anticipate changing customer needs and respond to them through adding innovative products and services. This capability gives market-oriented companies an advantage in the speed and effectiveness of their response to opportunities and threats. Thus, a market orientation is inherently a learning orientation (Slater and Narver, 1995, p. 67). Today, almost all companies, regardless of developed or developing countries, consider market orientation as a central point of their decision-making process. The literature on this concept suggests that environmental factors such as technological turbulence, competition, and market turbulence create the need for market orientation (Malhotra, 2001). As a result, companies now adopt market orientation either as a culture, philosophy, or behavior (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990, Narver and Slater, 1990). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Defining Market Direction Several views on market direction are apparent. In the early 1990s, Kohli and Jaworski (1990) proposed a formal definition of “market orientation,” as a set of behaviors and activities within an organization. Specifically, the generation of organization-wide market intelligence regarding current and future customer needs, the dissemination of this information across departments, and organization-wide responsiveness. In other words, it is a process of generating and disseminating market information aimed at creating superior value for the buyer. Narver and Slater (1990) reinforce Kohli and Jaworski's (1990) conceptualization by defining market orientation as "the organizational culture that most effectively and efficiently creates the behaviors necessary to create superior value for buyers and therefore continued superior performance for the company. On this basis, they identified three behavioral components: customer orientation, competitor orientation and cross-functional orientation. According to Slater and Narver (1995), market orientation provides strong standards for learning from customers and competitors; it must be complemented by entrepreneurship and appropriate organizational structures and processes for high-level learning. In general, market orientation concerns the processes and activities associated with the creation andto customer satisfaction by continually assessing their needs and wants (Uncles, 2000). Problem Statement There is a positive relationship between market orientation and performance, as established by many researchers. (Narver and Slater, 1990 USA Positive MO-BP relationship). Marketing orientation is an emerging practice adopted by many companies to improve their performance, that is, their efficiency and innovation. (Aliyu Mukhtar Shehu and Rosli Mahmood August 2014 The Relationship between Market and Business Orientation and Performance of Nigerian SMEs, Kajendra Kanagasabai 2008 Market Orientation and Firm Performance: A Study of Selected Japanese and Sri Lankan Companies, Nora Lado 1998 Department of Business Economics, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Spain and Albert Maydeu-Olivares 1998 Department of Psychology, University of Barcelona, ​​Spain (Exploring the link between market orientation and innovation in European and American insurance markets) But from many researches, the research was based on the marketing orientation on the performance of SMEs and on the comparison of the marketing orientation on the performance between two companies from two or more different countries. did not demonstrate a link between marketing orientation and performance in after-sales operations in automobile industries. This necessitated the need to carry out research on this subject in relation to the automobile industry. Scope of the Study The research will focus on the effect of market orientation on the performance of Toyota Ghana Limited as an automobile industry. The research will examine how the market oriented practices adopted by Toyota Ghana impact its performance to make it competitive in the market and ensure its survival. The scope of the study will be limited to two branches of Toyota Ghana, namely: Accra and Tema. The research will be based on after-sales services provided by Toyota Ghana. The research will be focused on the Service and spare parts department. Relevance of the study Much research has already been carried out on market orientation and its effect on business performance. This study will always be important because it will contribute immensely to the practical and academic implications. This study will help Toyota Ghana after-sales service managers understand the usefulness of market orientation and how it affects the performance of their operations. The study will make after-sales service managers more proactive in anticipating and responding to customer needs and aims to improve customer satisfaction, which will ultimately lead to customer retention and loyalty, as it There has been a growth of other competitors offering similar services at a lower price. The study will improve the effectiveness of field service managers in responding to opportunities and threats. The study will help after-sales service managers to review existing market-oriented practices, improve them and adopt new practices. If this implementation is successful, it will be shared as a best practice in other Toyota Ghana branches namely Kumasi, Tarkwa and Takoradi as well as Toyota Ghana Authorized Service Workshops (TGASS) across the country . In the long term, other automobile industries in Ghana will also attempt to emulate this study and incorporate it into after-sales operations. Limitations of the study This study will not be carried out without limitations. The first would be the limited time required to complete the research. Furthermore, the research will be focused on a single automobile company, namely Toyota Ghana, and therefore cannot accurately reflect all automobile industries in Ghana. Being.