Exploring the Market Orientation of Olive Oil Consortia: an analysis in the Italian context.

This paper aims to investigate the market orientation of Olive Oil Consortia in Italy. Through an exploratory qualitative analysis, the study sets out to look in detail at: a) whether and how the principal features and main activities characterizing this fundamental marketing concept are defined and effectively implemented in the organizations under examination; b) whether and how the adoption of market orientation influences their business performance. Findings suggest that Olive Oil Consortia recognize the relevance of principal dimensions of market orientation in order to develop innovative products that meet customers’ needs and to achieve positive performance. However, the adoption of market orientation constitutes a significant challenge to Consortia because it requires a cultural change as well as the availability of economic and human resources needed to adopt and implement this orientation.