Abstract

The concept of internal marketing originated about 50 years ago. With the increasing number of research publications and practice interests, research in the area has attracted continuous attention and publications has been soared in the last 15 years. Topics within internal marketing have been touched upon in other areas, such as organisational behaviour, operational management and human resource management, either from the management perspective, process-focused or personnel management. Acknowledging the existing contributions and merits of this research area, we call for a re-examination of the role of marketing going beyond the traditionally defined scope. we must admit its limitation. Being aware of the development of technology, the increase in mobility, and the fast-changing economic and social environments globally, the research talk includes discussions on three aspects: 1) Understanding and identifying internal markets, which include discussions on the existence of internal exchanges in both social and capital terms. 2) Distinguishing the meanings of internal market orientation and internal marketing and encouraging other relevant concepts. 3) Exploring research opportunities in how different organisational structures, management processes and industrial sectors may influence the effectiveness and efficiency of internal market exchanges, and thus further contribute to individuals, businesses and society at large. Based on the author’s existing publications, it is hoped that this research talk will generate more innovative research ideas in the area.

About the Speaker

Dr Qionglei Yu is an Associate Professor in Marketing and the Degree Programme Director of MSc International Marketing at Newcastle University Business School. Qionglei received her PhD from University of Sheffield. She worked for Kent Business School, Canterbury Christ Church Business School, and School of Business Administration at Zhejiang Gongshang University in China prior to joining Newcastle University Business School. Her research interests include internal marketing and exploring how technological innovation and digital transformation can influence consumers’ emotions and behaviour, especially in tourism. Her works are published in journals such as European Journal of Marketing, International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Research, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, International Journal of Human Resource Management, etc. Apart from academic research, Qionglei also has years of experience in industrial consultancy, e.g. China Mobile, China Zheshang Insurance, China Tea Research Institute, Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co., and Zhejiang Haining China Leather City. etc.