When do firm, market and economic boundaries change the relationship between market learning and firm performance?

Purpose This study aims to propose five boundary conditions that systematically influence the relationship between market learning and performance. These boundaries operate in firm level (size and age), market level (industry and segmentation), economic level (gross domestic product [GDP] and competitive index) and employee level (CEO vs others level). The proposed theoretical model underscores the importance of market learning in enhancing organizational performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a meta-analytic investigation covering a 28 years period (1997–2025), identifying 119 articles that generated 203 effect size observations, based on a sample of 111,828 respondents from 40 countries. Findings The results suggest that firm-level characteristics, such as company size and age, market-level (service vs manufacturing and business-to-business [B2B] vs business-to-consumer [B2C] segmentation), economic-level boundaries and employee level, significantly moderate the relationship between market learning and organizational performance. Furthermore, the outcomes confirm a positive effect of market learning on organizational performance. Practical implications This study advances organizational learning theory by showing that market learning capabilities enhance firm performance. The study demonstrates that the relationship between market learning and performance is shaped by five moderating boundaries at the firm, market and economic levels: company size, age, industry type (service vs manufacturing), market segmentation (B2B vs B2C) and national conditions such as GDP and competitiveness. The findings reveal that B2C firms, older companies and firms in stronger economies benefit more from market learning due to greater adaptability, accumulated knowledge and better access to resources and intelligence. Originality/value Many studies have focused on exploring market learning and its impacts on either innovation or performance; however, research explicitly identifying the firm, segment and economic-level boundaries conditions that moderate this relationship remains scarce.