Changes in the Marketing Orientation Within the Business Model of an International Retailer

Abstract

Reported in this paper is an interview- and press release-based study that considers the market-driven and market-driving activities within the disaggregated components of a business model. This is based on an empirical study of IKEA in Malaysia over the past 20 years. Market orientation is perceived to be a position on a continuum, not a binary one. The components of the business model employed in this study were developed from Osterwalder and Pigneur. Findings show that over time the balance between driven and driving orientations of the company changed in a number of ways with respect to its business models. This chapter contributes by showing the disaggregated nature of market orientation of driving and driven activities and linking them to a given component of business model as well as reviewing what happened to the driven-driving balance over the course of time. This approach can widely be applied with respect to attempts geared towards understanding the dynamic nature of international retailing.