Economy & Business, Volume 13, 2019

Abstract: The social orientation of small and medium-sized enterprises derives primarily from their operational specifics, since these companies are often embedded in their environment that affects their strategy. After presenting the fundamental orientation theories, the article analysis the effects of stakeholder orientation on corporate operations and marketing strategy. While market and marketing orientation focuses primarily on customers and competitors, stakeholder orientation analyzes and prioritizes individual stakeholder groups based on multiple criteria. It this paper the author tests the implementation of the reviewed theoretical concepts using empirical research. The author’s aim is to analyze the relationships between the orientations and the operation of the companies according to the opinion of the managers of small and medium-sized companies.