Half-Way Towards Market Economy: Market Orientation of the Hungarian Manufcturing Companies

Abstract

More than half a decade has gone by since the beginning of the transformation of the political system and the launch of an evolution process towards market economy. It is appropriate to ask the question: how developed are the companies operating in Hungary have learned and applied the marketing concept. Do abundance of goods, freedom of enterprise and clearly more and more intense competition help become market oriented? Or do traditional practices survive under the changing surface? Could our companies get rid of the “quasi” production orientation of socialism? How characteristic is customer orientation besides an emphasis on selling?
As a summary one can conclude that majority of manufacturing companies in Hungary still thinks first in production terms. This approach is more common is state owned companies, bigger organizations and producers of industrial goods. Only minority of the producers gives priority to the costumer in its operation. Private firms appear to be more costumer oriented: foreign owned ventures, smaller organizations and poducers of costumer goods are the best in this respect.