Market Orientation, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Business Performance Anis Ben Brik Belaid Rettab Kamel Mellahi ABSTRACT. This study examines the moderating effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the association between market orientation and firm perfor- mance in the context of an emerging economy. The results from a sample of firms that operate in Dubai indicate that CSR has a synergistic effect on the impact of market orientation on business performance. The results of our research on the moderating effects of CSR on market orientation subsets reveal that although CSR moderates the association between customer orientation and business performance, it does not moderate the association between competitive orientation and inter- functional coordination and performance. The results of this study are discussed, and implications for practitioners and researchers are presented. KEY WORDS: market orientation, corporate social responsibility, resource-based view, Dubai, emerging economies Introduction Unfolding the determinants of firm performance is a central aim of strategic management scholarship. For nearly two decades, the market orientation per- spective has facilitated researchers’ understanding of the link between firms’ strategy and financial per- formance (Han et al., 1998; Jaworski and Kohli, 1996; Kirca et al., 2005; Kohli and Jaworski, 1990; Narver and Slater, 1990), customer satisfaction and retention (Narver and Slater, 1990; Slater and Narver, 1994), and employee commitment (Matsuno et al., 2002). The market orientation perspective is predicated on the assumption that firms gain and sustain their competitive advantage by effectively serving dominant stakeholders and constantly meeting the changing needs of the market (Narver and Slater, 1990). Critics argue, however, that the market orienta- tion perspective suffers from a significant ‘‘black box’’ challenge (Ellinger et al., 2008). That is, al- though scholars have offered a number of convinc- ing arguments to assert the positive link between a firm’s market orientation and its performance (Kirca et al., 2005), the underlying determinants for this assertion remain illusive. Zhou et al. (2008, p. 985) argue that despite the strong appeal of market ori- entation, ‘‘simply assessing the direct link between market orientation and performance is not fruitful’’. Scholars contend that the relationship between market orientation and firms’ performance is an outcome of interactions amongst a number of stra- tegic actions – a topic that is much less researched (Olavarrieta and Friedmann, 2008). Scholars have recently advocated that a better understanding of the association between market orientation and perfor- mance lies in the study of market orientation as a component of a bundle of other strategic actions (Cano et al., 2004). In response to their recom- mendation, this study aims to examine the interac- tion effects of market orientation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on performance. We chose to investigate the impact of bundling CSR activities and market orientations for several reasons. First, of all the factors that could influence the impact of market orientation, CSR is arguably one of the most central to the effectiveness of market orientation. CSR activities are crucial because an important feature of a market orientation perspective is its primary focus on a firm’s ability and willingness to serve its stakeholders. Therefore, it is plausible to argue that CSR activities may foster a favourable relationship between the firm and its customers and other dominant stakeholders. This favourable rela- tionship could ultimately strengthen the market Journal of Business Ethics Ó Springer 2010 DOI 10.1007/s10551-010-0658-z