Correlation of internal marketing and service quality with the mediating role of market orientation in sports clubs

Introduction: Internal marketing is a management tool that provides the ground for providing quality services by paying attention to managers as internal customers. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between internal marketing and service quality with the mediating role of market orientation in sports clubs in Kermanshah province in 2020. Methods: The present study is a descriptive-correlational study. 234 managers of sports clubs in Kermanshah province entered the study as a statistical sample by census method. Data were collected by the “Foreman and Muni’ Internal Marketing Questionnaire”, “Yi-Chin Liu Quality Service Questionnaire”, and “Narver and Slater Market Orientation”. Construct validity, Cronbach’s alpha calculation and combined reliability were used to determine the reliability. Data analysis was performed with SPSS. 22 and Amos 23 software. Results: There was a significant correlation between internal marketing and market orientation in sports clubs (β = 0.87, P = 0.001). There was a significant correlation between market orientation and service quality (β = 0.10, P = 0.015); Also, a significant correlation was observed between internal marketing and service quality (β = 0.87, P = 0.002). Conclusions: The correlation between internal marketing and service quality, the correlation between internal marketing and market orientation and market orientation with service quality has become significant. Therefore, the market orientation variable can be considered as a partial mediating variable. It is suggested that sports club managers help improve the quality of service in sports clubs through the implementation of internal marketing activities.