Introduction of market orientation into charities, easier said than done?

In the for-profit sector, market orientation is accepted as assisting organisations to improve

performance. It is considered that market orientation can also benefit organisations within the

not-for-profit sector. This paper case studies a not-for-profit charity that introduced market

orientation. Via thematic analysis of in-depth interviews of employees, change within the

organisation is evaluated with findings indicating that an increase in market orientation can

improve service offerings to clients, and use of direct marketing techniques can improve

revenue generation enabling charities to do more with less. However, there are specific

underlying aspects of charities that need to be maintained to appease existing employees. The

paper advances academic and practitioner knowledge regarding how market orientation can

successfully be introduced into a charity.