The influence of Internal Market Orientation (IMO) on external results: The mediating role of employees’ attitudes

This research article focuses on the influence of Internal Market Orientation (IMO) on results by means of the mediating role of employees’ satisfaction, trust and commitment.

This article was written by the Associate Professors Vicent Tortosa Edo, Jaume Llorens-Monzonís, Miguel Ángel Moliner-Tena and Javier Sánchez-García, all of them are professors at Jaume I University, in Castelló de la Plana (Spain). It is one of the articles published by the professor Vicent Tortosa related to the topic Internal Marketing.

The main characteristics of the article are:

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the possible influence of internal marketing
(represented by internal market orientation (IMO)) on external customer outcomes (perceived service quality and customer satisfaction) through the mediating role of employees’ attitudes (job satisfaction, trust and commitment) that comprise relationship quality.
Design/methodology/approach: The authors employ a dyadic methodology, with 244 dyads
(employee-the average of his/her three patients) at the outpatient services of five Spanish hospitals. The authors use structural equation modelling (EQS6.1) to test the relationships of the model.
Findings: The results corroborate the hypotheses proposed in the model, with the exception of
the influence of IMO on commitment. Significant differences in some relationships, depending on the experience of the employee, are also corroborated.
Research limitations/implications – The paper analyses one service activity in the same region.
Only perceptual data are used to measure the variables of the model.
Practical implications: Service companies should consider IMO because it contributes to creating an excellent customer experience. Furthermore, managers should bear in mind their employees’ needs when taking decisions.
Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating, for the first time, the
mediating role of relationship quality in the influence of IMO on external outcomes. It is also the first paper in internal marketing to analyse the differences in the consequences of IMO according to employee tenure.

Keywords: Internal marketing, Service quality, Patient satisfaction, Employees’ attitudes,
Internal market orientation.

This research article was published on the Journal of Service Theory and Practice (2015), Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 486-523