The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive qualitative review of the empirical accumulated knowledge on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO).
To systematically review the empirical literature that simultaneously tests the core tenets of EO and MO, this study followed a multi-step approach, which has served as a replicable literature review method in previous studies. A final sample of 121 papers published between 1987 and 2016 was developed.
The results show that EO–MO relationship research has made considerable strides in recent years and is accelerating and broadening. This interest is manifested in the 83 journals and 266 authors that were identified. Additionally, the results confirm that the Anglo region contributed the majority of EO–MO relationships in the study sample. Finally, the 121 papers in the sample were organized into six different approaches, which in turn represent 53 research models where the unidimensional conceptualizations of EO and MO were predominant.
This study has shown that the EO–MO relationship has been studied from different approaches, which revealed several research models that advance the knowledge on relationships between EO and MO. EO and MO are, in turn, also positively associated with firm performance. Thus, the study results highlight numerous and varied fertile areas for future research that may offer a more detailed understanding of the EO–MO relationship.
