Identifying the determinants of internal marketing orientation

Internal marketing orientation is an area within the broader market orientation that remains relatively under‐researched. Utilising the internal marketing orientation (IMO) scale developed by Foreman and Money, this paper seeks to develop our understanding of the factors that may influence an employee's perception of their company's level of IMO. Based on 281 responses from a large UK‐based service organisation, the paper reports on the extent to which the Foreman and Money scale does, or does not, correlate with a range of “person” “situation” and “person × situation” variables identified from both focus groups and from the literature. It was found that among the single item variables age, location, and length of tenure all impacted upon levels of IMO. In the case of the more complex “person × situation” multi‐item variables, the most important determinants were found to be the perceived market orientation of local managers and direct managers/supervisors, as well as aspects of communication, socialisation, and workplace satisfaction. The results provide support for earlier work that highlights the importance of these more complex variables in managing internal marketing.