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The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of internal market orientation on the adoption of external market orientation among the retail banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study adds to the previous research regarding external market orientation. It also develops an empirical model on the basis of the results.

This study used a self-administered structured questionnaire to collect data from the front-line marketing and non-marketing employees from the banks. Data were collected from 98 branches of all the 49 banks that operate in the UAE. Two major emirates of the UAE, namely, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, were considered for data collection. Each bank contributed responses from a minimum of two branches, and 113 completed questionnaires were received out of 196 respondents approached for data collection. The reliability, convergent and discriminant validity issues of the data were assessed, and the results of these confirmed the appropriateness of the data used in this study.

Direct entry regression and multivariate analysis of variance were used for identifying the conclusions surrounding the hypotheses of the study. The results measured the extent of internal market orientation and employees’ organisational commitment. They both confirmed their positive role on the adoption of external market orientations among the retail banks in the UAE. The results of the study further provided evidence that once an external market orientation focus is adopted, this benefits customer loyalty and satisfaction in addition to overall positive business outcomes for the banks concerned.

The findings of this study support the theoretical arguments of the role of employees and internal market orientation on the adoption of external market orientation. This study further identifies the reason why the adoption of external market orientation is critical for the success of banks.