More than lip service to internal market orientation : a multilevel investigation of the role of internal service quality

Purpose: Drawing on self-determination theory and the service-profit chain, this study aims to expand the current understanding of the internal processes of internal market orientation (IMO) on an organizational commitment by investigating the interactive effect between job (task) satisfaction and internal service quality in the field of hospitality and tourism. Design/methodology/approach: This study examines the cross-level effects of internal service quality through a time-lagged field study with multilevel structural equation modeling analysis that involved 667 frontline employees from 40 casino hotels. Findings: The results reveal the IMO has an indirect effect on affective and normative organizational commitments through the interaction of job (task) satisfaction with internal service quality, such that internal service quality compensates for relatively low levels of job (task) satisfaction. While no indirect effect is found on continuance organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications: This study extends the service-profit chain by integrating self-determination theory and by investigating IMO’s indirect effects on commitment through the interaction between job (task) satisfaction and internal service quality. Practical implications: The study provides practical solutions to the employee servicing and employee retention dilemmas faced by casino organizations. Originality/value: This study advances the service-profit chain literature by proposing and theorizing an internal process of IMO, through the cross-level buffering effect of internal service quality on the relationship between job (task) satisfaction and organizational commitment. This study further presents the theoretical and managerial implications by understanding how employees’ perceptions and interpretations of IMO affect their commitment.