Political marketing in the Greek context: does market orientation exist?

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to investigate whether and to what extent the two major parties in Greece, ND and PASOK, are market-oriented, and (2) to examine how effectively the two existing political market orientation models can explain the Greek reality. These models, Market-Oriented Party (MOP) and Political Market Orientation (PMO) combined with the concept of Strategic Political Postures (SPPs), form the theoretical underpinnings of the paper. The author followed an explanatory case study approach to examine the two major Greek political parties. The case study evidence indicated that both Greek parties of government used elements of market orientation. However, they cannot be characterised as fully market-oriented, since they focused almost exclusively on short-term voter desires and failed to fulfil their pre-election promises. The paper concludes that the two models of market orientation may partially explain the Greek case.