Internal marketing in UK banks: Conceptual legitimacy or window dressing?

Ioanna Papasolomou-Doukakis, Philip J. Kitchen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    This paper discusses findings from an exploratory study concerning internal marketing in the UK retail bank industry. In order to enhance efficiency and provide motivation to employees many UK banks have adopted internal marketing. The paper adopts the approach of first defining the generic research area, and then describing the research approach. It is concerned with first identifying the rhetoric of internal marketing as employed in UK banks, and second with exploring the practice of reality of internal marketing as practiced within UK banks. The paper is grounded in Mason's view that theoretical positions or data explanations move from the particular context of internal marketing views and expand within banks to the general theoretical contribution to be made. Findings are explored via two extant relationships and three anomalies based on the data analysis. Evidence from the study suggests that internal marketing is being taken seriously but in such a way as to be managerially, not employee, oriented. At best, internal marketing within this industry is regarded as a form of window dressing or part of the trappings of marketing, rather than having any substantive base or rationale insofar as employees are concerned.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)421-452
    Number of pages32
    JournalInternational Journal of Bank Marketing
    Volume22
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2004

    Keywords

    • Banks
    • Internal marketing
    • United Kingdom

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Internal marketing in UK banks: Conceptual legitimacy or window dressing?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this