Abstract:
In different sectors and countries, the importance of market orientation has been widely recognised in improving
organisational performance in large organisations. However the concept of market orientation is being
misunderstood by the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises particularly from developing countries context.
These misunderstandings led to this study which mainly focused on examining the understanding of market
orientation, antecedents and consequences of market orientation by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises
operating in the wood and metal furniture manufacturing industry of Zimbabwe. The research was more
qualitative in nature and used face to face interviews to gather insights into the market orientation practices,
antecedents and consequences in Micro Small and Medium Enterprises. The study’s results revealed that Micro
Small and Medium Enterprises lack greater understanding of the market orientation concept, its antecedences
and consequences. This has been revealed by the majority of MSME’s top management not having full support
of market orientation and not being risk takers. MSMEs confessed not having marketing budgets, research and
development teams, marketing plans and they do not see its importance to the success of their businesses. These
enterprises are operating more informally and concentrate on methods of increasing products purchase,
increasing market share and customer retention. Basing on these findings, the paper provides some managerial
implications, limitations of the study and recommendations for future researches.
