The Impact of Internal Marketing Efforts in Distribution Service Operations

Frontline employees can have an important impact on the quality of products and services delivered by a firm since they are often in direct contact with external customers or are the last people to handle the customer's product and information before delivery. Marketing efforts can offer firms a greater competitive advantage by overtly stimulating the impact of frontline logistics employees on customer value creation. In such a situation, internal marketing is a good strategy in both service and product support contexts. This paper introduces a broad marketing mix framework that shifts the application from marketing products to marketing the workplace to logistics distribution employees. Research findings support a multidimensional operationalization of internal marketing. Holistic tests indicate that internal marketing on an interpersonal level is associated with satisfied and higher performing distribution center employees and increased interdepartmental customer orientation. Theoretical and managerial implications and directions for future research are discussed.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/4304746
• Authors:
  • Keller, Scott B
  • Lynch, Daniel F
  • Ellinger, Alexander E
  • Ozment, John
  • Calantone, Roger
• Publication Date: 2006-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 109-137
• Serial:
  • Journal of Business Logistics
  • Volume: 27
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers Limited
  • ISSN: 0197-6729
  • EISSN: 2158-1592
  • Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2158-1592

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Business practices; Customer service; Distribution support businesses; Employee relations; Management; Marketing; Physical distribution; Theory; Warehouses
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Freight Transportation; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I10: Economics and Administration; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01041143
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 30 2007 1:27PM