Abstract:
Service providing industries pride itself with its employees as they market exceptional customer experience instead of physical goods. However, most service providing companies do not meet the expectations of their customers. Based on the Service Profit Chain (Heskett et al, as cited in Dunmore, 2002), external service quality mirrors internal service quality. Hence, Berry (1981) proposed Internal Marketing as a solution in maintaining a consistent high quality of service. However, how an employee attributes internal marketing may affect their behavior towards it. The goal of internal marketing is to develop customer orientation among the employees. Therefore, its antecedent is cooperative behavior. In the face of conflict, this study aims to establish a correlation between the Employee attributions in Internal Marketing and their Conflict Management Styles. To explain how employees attribute the implementation of Internal Marketing, the study derived a conceptual framework from Kelley’s Covariation Model. The study only focused on three specific attributions, namely: Change management, Employee Engagement, and Internal Service Quality Management. Thomas-Kilmann’s Conflict Management Style was also used to explain how an employee chooses his/her conflict management style based on their level of cooperativeness and assertiveness. The study found that there was a positive correlation with between the employee attributions in internal marketing and employee’s the level of cooperativeness during conflicts. This supported the positive correlation between the employee attributions in internal marketing and their conflict management style. In conclusion, the researcher highlighted the significance of the internal marketing practice in a company – particularly in sustaining an effective internal communication among the company’s stakeholders.
