Internal marketing relationships in entrepreneurial direct selling organizations.

Abstract

The model is tested in an entrepreneurial direct selling organization. Support is found for all of the quality of relationship paths in the model. Surprisingly, the traditional sales management relationship links were not supported. These findings suggest that, in some organizations, it is the relationship that counts.

The IRM model proposes that the quality of relationships within an organization is central to employees' evaluation of current outcomes and their expectations of future relations with the organization. Relationship quality is influenced by the management activities and relationship behaviors engaged in by the organization. The model also includes traditional sales management practices by positing a relationship between sales management and current outcomes and between current outcomes and future expectations.

This dissertation builds on Berry's (1983) formulation of relationship marketing as those marketing activities for the purpose of attracting, maintaining and enhancing customer relationships. The current body of relationship marketing literature is expanded to include the concept of internal relationship marketing. This is accomplished through the development and testing of an Intraorganizational Relationship Marketing (IRM) model.