The mediating role of job satisfaction and affective commitment in the relationship between internal marketing practices and customer orientation

Purpose This paper aims to examine the nature of the relationship between internal marketing (IM) and customer orientation, with the mediating role of job satisfaction and affective commitment. The study encompasses workers of the service sector in Bahrain. Design/methodology/approach In total, 300 questionnaires were distributed, using a simple random sample, to employees of different service industries. The response rate was (73%). Simple and multiple regressions were used to analyze the data and test hypotheses. Findings The main findings of the study reveal a significant positive relationship between IM practices and customer orientation. It also indicates a significant positive effect of one of IM practices, internal communication, on customer orientation. The regression confirms a significant positive effect of IM on job satisfaction and affective commitment. Furthermore, the effect of job satisfaction and affective commitment on customer orientation were demonstrated. In addition, the results show a mediating effect of job satisfaction and affective commitment on the path of the relationship between IM and customer orientation, which was full for job satisfaction and partial for affective commitment. Originality/value This paper was trying to address a societal problem, the mediating role of job satisfaction and affective commitment in the direct path along the relationship between IM and customer orientation in the private sector in Bahrain. This cannot be done in a vacuum, as all research builds upon previous work. A deep literature review of books and journals on what is known so far about the problem was a guide to lead us to focus on filling the gaps in the knowledge about such a problem.