The impact of internal marketing on employee job satisfaction and customer satisfaction: empirical evidence from restaurant industry of Saudi Arabia

This study investigates the role of internal marketing (IM) on employees' perceived job satisfaction and the consequent impact on customer satisfaction. A model is developed to explain the influence the factors of IM on employees' job satisfaction. Data was collected from 401 frontline employees of several types of restaurants in Saudi Arabia. The results suggest that IM practices such as leadership commitment; internal communication and reward system has a significant effect on frontline employees' perception of job satisfaction. Service training and development does not contribute to frontline employees' perception of job satisfaction. Employees' job satisfaction is a contributor to customer satisfaction. The findings broaden and deepen an understanding of how the factors of IM practices reinforce employees' job satisfaction. The results have useful implications to the restaurant business, particularly in the Middle East nations to capture IM factors, which will provide job satisfaction to employees and ultimately increases customer satisfaction.