Is Business School Performance Impacted by Market Orientation Toward Students, Employers of Students, and Parents of Students？ Views from Accounting Department Chairpersons, Business School Deans, and Academic Vice-Presidents of AACSB Business Schools

This paper is part of a continuing research stream dealing with organizational behavior and performance in higher education, specifically within AACSB-Intemational business schools. Using responses to a national survey sent to AACSB-International members schools located in the United States, we report market orientation levels toward students, parents of students, and employers of students as well as levels of organizational performance reported by accounting department chairpersons, business school deans, and academic vice-presidents. Theory and empirical research suggest that higher levels of market orientation result in higher levels of organizational performance. Comparisons of the various input scores for each customer group （students, parents of students, and employers of students） submitted by the survey respondents are made against a benchmark established for businesses in the marketing literature and then scores are compared by administrative groups against one another. Finally, regression analysis is used to determine if the reported levels of organizational performance are impacted by the levels of reported market orientation. Altogether, 101 accounting department chairpersons, 130 business school deans, and 110 academic vice-presidents responded. The paper presents details of the research process, findings, statistical inferences, and discusses the implications of the research for schools of business and academic accounting departments.