Market Orientation and Competitive Advantage: Mediating Role of Strategic Ambidexterity

Abstract

Formal financial services operating in Uganda, including commercial banks, micro-finance institutions, insurance companies and savings and credit cooperatives have not created and enhanced their competitive advantage. This is because they have concentrated on traditional customers but ignored new customers. Yet, firms operating in a competitive environment ought to have a competitive advantage over other players in the same business in order to survive and succeed. Studies that have been conducted on how competitive advantage can be created and enhanced have mainly focused on the direct relationship between market orientation and competitive advantage, ignoring the mediating role that strategic ambidexterity may have on that relationship. This paper discusses findings and provides theoretical as well as managerial implications.

Keywords – Market orientation, strategic ambidexterity,
competitive advantage, financial services, Uganda.