Internal marketing impact on business performance in a retail context
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
ISSN: 0959-0552
Article publication date: 5 June 2009
Abstract
Purpose
The majority of research pertaining to internal marketing (IM) is conceptual and still remains so even at present. The lack of widely accepted definitions of the IM concept and a relevant valid measure has lead to increased attempts by academia to investigate the relative concepts and measures. The purpose of this paper is to examine a synthesis of IM and investigates its effect on business performance in a retail context.
Design/methodology/approach
The context of this paper is within supermarket chains in Greece with nation wide coverage. A survey is designed and implemented using the branch managers.
Findings
SEM analysis indicates five dimensions of the IM construct: formal interaction, reward systems, feedback, internal procedures and policies and internal customer orientation (ICO). Retailers seem to adopt in an embryonic stage a concept of IM. IM indeed has a positive effect on business performance.
Research limitations/implications
Single key informant, single context of the paper are considerations when examining research limitations.
Practical implications
The embryonic stage of adopting and implementing IM within supermarket chains illustrates a certain manner of managing the internal customer; centralisation of procedures and tactics. Even if the concept of IM is partially exploited, the respective organisational behaviours clearly have a positive impact on both financial and non‐financial aspects of retail performance, thus revealing their importance.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the rare empirical investigation of the IM notion in the firm and provides evidence on both its synthesis and its impact on business performance. The authors synthesize the concepts of internal market and ICOs providing a new approach to IM. Construct and research propositions have been axiomatic and in an only conceptual context until recently.
Keywords
Citation
Panigyrakis, G.G. and Theodoridis, P.K. (2009), "Internal marketing impact on business performance in a retail context", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 37 No. 7, pp. 600-628. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590550910964620
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited