Rereloluwa Deborah Akintola

The study examines the influence of market orientation on the performance of mobile operators in the telecommunication industry and the moderating effect of strategic marketing on the relationship. Based on a cross-sectional survey of 286 management staff of the four largest mobile operators in Nigeria (MTN, Glo, 9Mobile, Airtel), an empirical evidence was established. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The SEM outlined the connection between the dimensions of market orientation and organizational performance. The findings revealed that inter-functional coordination (β = 0.485, t = 2.542, p = 0.013 < 0.05) and customer orientation (β = 0.245, t = 2.043, p = 0.038 < 0.05) significantly influence organizational performance, while competitor orientation (β = 0.159, t = 1.870, p = 0.065 < 0.05) has no discernible effect. It was also found that strategic marketing has a major impact on organizational performance (β = 0.466, t = 4.175, p = 0.000 < 0.05), but it has no moderating influence on the relationship between market orientation and organizational performance (β = 0.032, t = 0.445, p = 0.665 > 0.05). This implies that strategic marketing has a direct effect on organizational performance and not a moderating effect. Therefore, the study recommends that market orientation especially customer orientation and inter-functional coordination, as well as strategic marketing, should become a culture in the telecommunication industry.