Analysis of market orientation in Ugandan small and medium-sized enterprises: a case of Kampala District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse the level of adoption of market orientation among Ugandan SMEs in general, and with operations/offices in Kampala District in particular. The objectives of the study were: (1) to assess the Market Orientation practices of SMEs in Uganda, (2) to establish the challenges of adopting Market Orientation practices of SMEs in Uganda, and (3) to design strategies for improving Market orientation practices among SMEs in Uganda. The study was guided by Narver and Slater’s (1990) MKTOR market orientation model, which is premised on three major dimensions of market orientation, namely; customer-orientation, competitor-orientation and inter-functional coordination. A sample of 385 SMEs was selected using multistage stratified and purposive sampling techniques from the five administrative divisions of Kampala― Kampala Central, Kawempe, Nakawa, Rubaga and Makindye. This was done using Krejcie and Morgan Sample Size Determination Table. The Researcher used semi-structured questionnaires to collect the data, which was analysed using frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations to address the research objectives and establish spread and variation of data sets. The data obtained was then summarized and presented in form of tables. Generally, the findings of the study indicated that to a larger extent, Ugandan SMEs (54.12% on average), particularly those in Kampala District are market-oriented. This was found to be consistent in all the three major areas of market orientation―customer-orientation, competitor-orientation and inter-functional coordination across all the five divisions of Kampala.