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The purpose of this paper is to examine an empirical model of internal marketing (IM) and internal service quality (ISQ) in tourism restaurants operating in Jordan.

A structured and self‐administered survey was employed targeting managers and employees of tourism restaurants operating in Jordan. A sample of 334 of tourism restaurants managers and employees were involved in the survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesised interrelationships of the research model.

The empirical findings indicate that IM consists of six dimensions: staff recruitment, staff training, internal communications, staff motivation, job security and staff retention. Staff recruitment, staff training, and internal communications positively and significantly affected staff motivation. Staff recruitment and internal communications positively and significantly affected ISQ. Staff motivation positively and significantly affected job security, and job security positively and significantly affected staff retention. Finally, staff retention has positively and significantly affected ISQ. Staff recruitment exerted the strongest effect on both staff motivation and ISQ.

Theoretically, the authors examined only six components of IM that lead to ISQ; meanwhile other components could affect ISQ. There could also be other factors that affect the practice and components of IM and ISQ. This research has also examined the effect of IM and ISQ only. The potential effect of ISQ on business performance needs to be examined.

Tourism restaurants managers should have a holistic approach for IM and ISQ. Three dimensions of ISQ – reliability, assurance and empathy – loaded on one factor named “interaction quality”. This finding has important implications since it reveals that “internal customers” (employees) have “working needs” that should be met in order to meet and satisfy external customers’ needs. Managers and executives can benefit from the research findings while designing their IM and ISQ strategies to achieve long‐term organisational objectives.

This is the first research effort devoted to examining the interrelationships of IM and ISQ in tourism restaurants. Executives and managers can benefit from the research findings while designing their IM and ISQ strategies to achieve long‐term organisational objectives. International tourism organisations planning to expand their operations Jordan's tourism industry have now valuable empirical evidence regarding two important concepts in this industry – IM and ISQ.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a multidimensional model of marketing culture and performance in tourism restaurants operating in Jordan. The paper introduces a model proposing certain associations between Webster’s (1990) marketing culture dimensions and attempts to underline how such associations affect restaurants’ performance.

A structured and self-administered survey was used, targeting managers and employees of tourism restaurants operating in Jordan. A sample of 334 tourism restaurants’ managers and employees were involved in the survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesised interrelationships of the research model.

The empirical findings indicate that the marketing culture dimensions are seven rather than six, as proposed by Webster’s (1990) original model: service quality, interpersonal relationships, management–front-line interaction, selling task, organisation, internal communication and innovativeness. “Organisation” had positively and significantly affected “interpersonal relationships”. “Interpersonal relationships” had positively and significantly affected each of “management–front-line interaction”, “selling task” and “internal communications”. On the other hand, each of “management–front-line interaction”, “selling task” and “internal communications” had positively and significantly affected “innovativeness”. However, “innovativeness” itself had positively and significantly affected each of “service quality” and restaurant performance. Finally, “service quality” had positively and significantly affected restaurants’ performance.

Only seven dimensions of marketing culture were examined; meanwhile, there could also be other dimensions that affect restaurants’ performance. This paper has also examined the effect of a multidimensional model of marketing culture on restaurants’ financial performance only; the use of other types of non-financial measures could yield different results. The fact that paper’s sample consisted only of Jordanian restaurants further limits its generalisation potential.

The paper reinforces the importance of sound marketing culture to Jordanian tourism restaurants. It further underlines the importance of several marketing culture dimensions, particularly those related to employees’ selection, development and communication. Further, the paper emphasises the particular importance of front-office employees to the success of Jordanian restaurants. Tourism restaurants’ managers and executives can benefit from such findings for designing their marketing culture strategies to achieve long-term performance objectives.

This paper represents the first empirical attempt to examine the interrelationships between marketing culture dimensions introduced by Webster (1990). Accordingly, it should shed more light on the dynamics of marketing culture within service organisations, and how such dynamics affect organisations’ performance. Further, the paper is the first of its kind to study marketing culture dynamics in the context of Jordanian tourism restaurants industry. International tourism restaurants planning to expand their operations in Jordan’s tourism industry have now valuable empirical evidence concerning the marketing culture dimensions and their effect on performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity and reliability of marketing culture measurement scale developed by Webster (1990, 1993) in the context of Jordanian tourism restaurants industry. Further, the paper aims to assess the impact of marketing culture, and its dimensions, over Jordanian restaurants performance.

A structured and self-administered survey was employed targeting managers and employees of tourism restaurants operating in Jordan. A sample of 334 of tourism restaurants managers and employees were involved in the survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity, and composite reliability. Two structural path models analyses were also used to test the hypothesized relationships of the research model.

The empirical findings indicate that marketing culture dimensions are found to be seven rather than six dimensions as proposed by the original model; service quality, interpersonal relationships, management-front-line interaction, selling task, organization, internal communication, and innovativeness. A new dimension is found, named as management-front-line interaction, which exerted a positive and significant effect on restaurants performance. The structural findings indicate that the marketing culture “construct” has a positive and significant effect on restaurants performance, meanwhile only three out of seven of its dimensions exerted a positive and significant effect on restaurants performance; innovativeness, management-front-line interaction, and organization, respectively.

Theoretically, the author examined only seven components of marketing culture; meanwhile there could be other factors of marketing culture, or other organizational factors, that may affect restaurants performance. Empirically, the research has also examined the effect of marketing culture on restaurant financial performance only. Further, the research is industry limited; tourism restaurants in Jordan. Accordingly, the findings cannot be generalized to other service industries without further examination.

Tourism restaurants managers should recognize that marketing culture is not simply a number of dimensions that shape it rather; it is a complex organizational phenomenon that affects performance. Marketing culture is a multidimensional construct that consists of seven dimensions not just six as proposed by the original model. Tourism restaurants managers and executives can benefit from the research findings while designing their marketing culture strategies to achieve long-term performance objectives.

This is the first research effort devoted to reveal the marketing culture dimensions and examine their effect on tourism restaurants performance in Jordan. Executives and managers can benefit from the research findings to enhance their marketing culture strategies to achieve long-term objectives. International tourism restaurants planning to expand their operations in Jordan's tourism industry have now empirical evidence concerning the marketing culture dimensions and their effect on performance.