ABSTRACT
Customer and market orientation are the cornerstones of marketing ideology. However, the crystallization of the marketing concept during the 1950s, and its continuous rediscovery since, has deterred neither ambiguity nor the dissenting voice of criticism. A multitude of interpretations have emerged that suggest that instead of being at the centre of a stable world we are continually moving between different meanings. In this chapter, the controversial ways in which researchers and gurus have interpreted market and customer orientation is represented as a mini-plot where researchers engage in heated debate. In an attempt to bring clarity to this issue of interpretation we contrast the notions of ‘exploitation’ and ‘exploration’ and bring them together in a parsimonious model which shows these concepts as ‘interdefined’.
