INTERNAL MARKETING, TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

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1 SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2012, 40(9), Society for Personality Research INTERNAL MARKETING, TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS CHIH-LUN HUNG Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology In this study the effect of internal marketing on the job satisfaction of primary school teachers and the effectiveness of primary schools was tested. I used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness, and data were collected from 521 teachers in Central Taiwan primary schools. The results showed that both internal marketing and job satisfaction had a direct positive relationship with school effectiveness and job satisfaction had a partial mediating role in the association between internal marketing and school effectiveness. The research implications are that those in charge of primary schools need to emphasize internal marketing strategies and realize, and take into account, the effect of job satisfaction in the relationship between internal marketing strategies of schools and their effectiveness. Keywords: internal marketing, job satisfaction, teachers, school effectiveness, Central Taiwan. Taiwan s birth rate has dwindled over the last few decades, dropping to an average of 0.09 births per woman in 2011 from 3.09 recorded in 1976, according to figures compiled by the Ministry of the Interior (2011). The number of births in 2011 fell to 159,481 from 425,125 recorded in 1976 and the crude birth rate, which measures the annual number of births per 1,000 head of the total population, was only 6.88 in 2011 compared with in These statistics for 2011 are new record lows. The decrease in birth rate has greatly affected the state of the educational institutions in Taiwan. The school-age population is currently Chih-Lun Hung, Department of Childhood Education and Enterprise Management, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Chih-Lun Hung, Department of Childhood Education and Enterprise Management, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 666 Buzih Road, Beitun District, Taichung City 40601, Taiwan, ROC. clhung@ctust.edu.tw 1435

2 1436 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS rapidly decreasing so that the student population of primary schools, which was approximately 1,835,000 in 2005, is expected to decrease to 1,244,000 in Because of this decline in the number of children enrolling, the competition in primary education institutions is becoming more aggressive than ever in Taiwan. To compete with schools of the same type, institutions need to satisfy both internal (teachers) and external (students and potential students) customers (Kotler, 2000; Pitt, Bruwer, Nel, & Berthon, 1999; Sihombing & Gustam, 2007). However, schools rarely pay attention to internal customers (teachers ) needs or monitor these systematically; thus, there may be gaps between the schools operation and the teachers expectations, as well as tangible and intangible losses (Ham, 2003; Ting, 2010). For teachers to commit to their school, I have taken the view that the concept of internal marketing, as it is used in the business sector, should be infused into educational leadership. Thus, I reasoned that it is important for school managers to understand the influence of internal marketing on teachers. Ewing and Caruana (1999) wrote that the emphasis of internal marketing at schools is on the need of teachers to feel safe, cared for, and accepted by management. Kushman (1992) pointed out that teachers are critical to the operation of schools, and their identification with, support of, and devotion to, the organization are essential factors that enhance school effectiveness. Chien and Lin (2002) found that teachers with more organizational support perform better, have a significant emotional attachment to the school, and put forth greater efforts to accomplish the organizational objectives. Keller (2002) pointed out that if management wants its teachers to do a great job with customers, then it must be prepared to do a great job with its teachers (p. 651). Therefore, the concept of internal marketing might be as valuable for schools as it is for businesses and other service organizations. In the current study I explored this topic with a group of teachers at public primary schools in Taiwan, a context that has some specific characteristics. All public primary schools in Taiwan have to follow national curriculum standards that include using approved textbooks. Under the educational system that is used in Taiwan, many aspects of teachers jobs are clearly stipulated and defined so that Taiwanese teachers do not have autonomy to develop their own curriculum and instructional plans (Fwu & Wang, 2002; Ting, 2010). Literature Review Internal marketing has been defined in various ways in the marketing and organizational behavior literature. Sasser and Arbeit (1976) suggested that employees should be viewed as customers. Berry (1981) observed that by treating employees as customers, service quality improves. That is, internal

3 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS 1437 marketing emphasizes that employees should be put first, that employees are internal customers, and that their work is an internal product. In the process of internal marketing, efforts are dedicated to the design of products that better satisfy employee needs (Longbottom, Osseo-Asare, Chourides, & Murphy, 2006). In addition, internal marketing has been described as a communication process, and the purpose is to create a customer-oriented organizational culture (Bernstein, 2005). Job satisfaction is also one of the factors important in influencing employee behavior (Arnett, Laverie, & McLane, 2002). When individuals are satisfied with their job, they will feel more responsibility to support the organization. Job satisfaction has been defined as a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one s job (Mathis & Jackson, 2003). The job satisfaction of teachers is directly related to the quality of teaching provided in the classroom. Moreover, teachers satisfaction in school managers is important not only as an indicator of management efficiency, but also for the school to function as an effective environment in which to make management decisions. The concept of effectiveness refers, in the school environment, to an organization accomplishing its specific objectives (Beare, Caldwell, & Millikan, 1989; Botha, 2010). Sun, Creemers, and de Jong (2007) observed that in studies of school effectiveness researchers had the following two distinctive aims: first, to identify factors that are characteristic of effective schools, and second, to identify differences in educational outcomes in these schools. For the definition of school effectiveness in this study, I followed Cheng (1996), who adopted the view that school effectiveness refers to the ratio of output to nonmonetary inputs or processes, and the ratio between school output and monetary input (p. 40). Because many public schools in Taiwan have limited resources, it is extremely difficult for any school to maximize its effectiveness to achieve its goals (Lai, 2011). In the process of pursuing multiple goals, every school experiences different pressures from the environment; therefore, each school develops different priorities and criteria. In internal marketing the focus is on customer satisfaction and organizational efficiency that function through continuous attention to, and improvement of, the tasks that employees execute in the course of their employment and the environment in which they execute them (Ahmed, Rafiq, & Saad, 2003). Internal marketing is a process of interaction between the organization and its employees in a given company context within which the aim is to create an atmosphere and environment in which employees are encouraged to create, coordinate, and improve the company as a whole, that is, to work toward actions, interactions, and adaptations that enhance customer satisfaction. This is engendered by creating an environment in which quality-enhancing behaviors become a reflexive part

4 1438 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS of employee action (Ahmed et al., 2003) and the quality-enhancing behaviors of employees become a source of competitive advantage. The following four hypotheses were developed based on the literature review: Hypothesis 1: Internal marketing will be positively related to teachers job satisfaction. Hypothesis 2: Internal marketing will be positively related to school effectiveness. Hypothesis 3: Teachers job satisfaction will be positively related to school effectiveness. Hypothesis 4: Teachers job satisfaction will mediate the relationship between internal marketing and school effectiveness. Method My aim was to explore the relationships among internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness with a group of primary school teachers in Central Taiwan. The research framework is shown in Figure 1. Job satisfaction Internal marketing School effectiveness Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the relationships among internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness. Sample Using a random sampling method, I distributed surveys to 560 primary teachers across 45 Central Taiwan primary schools, of which 93% (N = 521) were returned and usable. There were 181 male participants (34.74%) and 340 female participants (65.25%). According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Education (2011), among the 99,541 teachers in public elementary schools in Taiwan at this same time, 30,849 were male (31%) and 68,692 were female (69%). Participants were grouped into four age categories: under 30 years (69 participants, 13.24%), years (220 participants, 42.22%), years (201 participants, 38.58%), and 51 years and over (31 participants, 5.95%). The statistics for teachers age, according to figures from the Department of Statistics (Ministry of Education, 2011), were: under 30 years (9,300 teachers, 9.34%),

5 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS years (41,810 teachers, 42%), years (39,171 teachers, 39.35%), and 51 years and over (2,658 teachers, 2.67%). The following four categories were also formed in reference to the participants years of teaching experience: less than 10 years (169 participants, 32.44%), years (205 participants, 39.35%), years (127 participants, 24.38%), and more than 31 years (20 participants, 3.84%). In regard to teachers service years nationally, 34,528 teachers in Taiwan in 2011 (34.69%) had less than 10 years, 41,413 teachers (41.60%) had more than 11 years but less than 20 years, 20,265 teachers (20.35%) had more than 21 years but less than 30 years, and 3,335 teachers (3.35%) had more than 30 years (Ministry of Education, 2011). Regarding the educational level of the participants, 15 people (2.87%) had studied in an undergraduate program or had not undertaken any study at a tertiary institution, 329 people (63.15%) were undergraduates, and 177 people (33.97%) had completed graduate school (including 40 credit programs). Most of the participants were undergraduates (68.23%), which is consistent with the Taiwan Ministry of Education national statistics that indicate 1,583 teachers in Taiwan had studied in an undergraduate program or had not undertaken any study at a tertiary institution (1.59%), 67,921 teachers were undergraduates (68.23%), and 30,037 teachers had completed graduate school (30.18%). Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of Study Population Demographic characteristic n % Gender Male Female Age Under Over Years of teaching experience Less than More than Educational level Undergraduate program or no tertiary study Undergraduate Graduate school (including 40 credit programs) According to the statistics in Table 1, it is clear that with respect to gender, age, years of service, and educational levels, the sample structure of this study was similar to the teacher structure of all public primary schools in Taiwan.

6 1440 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS Therefore, although the data were collected from Central Taiwan, the sample can be considered as representative at the national level of public primary school teachers in Taiwan. I evaluated nonresponse bias by comparing early and late respondents, following the procedure suggested by Armstrong and Overton (1977). No significant differences were found between all background and research variables, suggesting that a nonresponse bias should not be a problem. Participants were not identified personally on their survey forms and were assured of anonymity when they took part in the survey. Instruments Inventory of internal marketing factors. I designed this inventory for use in the present study. It included a literature review and interview questions for primary teachers, and the aim was to assess factors that relate to internal marketing strategies among primary school teachers in Taiwan. I designed the inventory by referring to Conduit and Mavondo (2001), who categorized internal marketing into five dimensions of market training and education, management support, internal communication, personnel management, and employee involvement in external communication. The inventory consists of 23 items, including items relating to management support (e.g., The principal understands the difficulties of our work; The principal encourages teachers to reflect critically on their professional practice), human resources management (e.g., The reward and punishment norms for teachers at our school are reasonable, open, and clear), educational training (e.g., The principal encourages teachers to participate in in-service education; encouraging and supporting redesign of teaching programs) and communication (e.g., The principal provides us with places and opportunities for communication; provides time and opportunities for peer connections among teachers). Participants were asked to use a 5-point scale to rate to what degree they perceived that each of these internal marketing strategies was being put into practice at their school (1 = I completely disagree and 5 = I completely agree). Higher scores referred to higher levels of internal marketing in the schools. Inventory of job satisfaction factors. I also designed this inventory for use in the present study. Referring to Porter and Lawler s (1968) description of job satisfaction, I defined teacher job satisfaction based on two groups of internal (e.g., I am satisfied with self-growth and the social status of my current job) and external satisfaction (e.g., I am satisfied with the salary and promotion prospects of my current job) factors. The inventory consists of 14 items used to assess the teachers attitudes in regard to both internal and external satisfaction with their job (1 = I completely disagree and 5 = I completely agree). Higher scores refer to teachers higher levels of job satisfaction.

7 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS 1441 Inventory of school effectiveness factors. I designed this inventory, which consists of 24 items, including effective leadership (e.g., Disciplinary procedures are implemented in a fair and consistent manner), effective teaching (e.g., Teachers design instructional lessons that allow all students to participate actively in the learning process), effective learning (e.g., Students are proud of their school), and effective support from the community (e.g., Parents feel comfortable communicating with teachers). Responses were given on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = I completely disagree to 5 = I completely agree. Higher scores refer to higher levels of effectiveness in the schools. In refining measurements, in this study I analyzed internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness using internal consistency and exploratory factor analysis. Factor Analysis A t test was conducted on the highest scoring group (the top 27%) and the lowest scoring group (the bottom 27%), and the critical value (CV; t) of each item was derived. Items with a CV of less than 3.0 and with a correlation coefficient (r) of less than.30 were deleted. A Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) approach was used to assess which variables to drop from the model because of a multicollinearity problem. The value of KMO varies from 0 to 1, and overall KMO should be 0.60 or higher to perform a factor analysis. If this is not achieved, then it is necessary to drop the variables with the lowest anti-image value until the overall KMO rises above.60. The KMO values of internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness scales were.90,.85, and.88, respectively. These factors reached significant levels using Bartlett s test; therefore, they were determined to be suitable for further factor analysis. Principal axis factoring and a varimax solution were used to maximize interpretation after comparing the results from various other methods of factor analysis and factor solutions. Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, and Tatham, (2010) suggested that variables be discarded based on the cut-off values of loading (<.50), cross-loading (>.30), and eigenvalue ( 1.0) of constructs. Results of the factor analysis indicated that all three factors of internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness had good explanatory power (as shown in Table 2). Reliability Coefficient As shown in Table 2, the Cronbach s of the internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness scales were.96,.91, and.95, respectively. Cronbach s is a commonly used method where alpha coefficient values range between 0 and 1 with higher values indicating higher reliability among the indicators (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998). All values were.90, indicating that all three scales had good reliability. The reliability values of the categories of the 10 subscales all ranged between.83 and.92. The scale of

8 1442 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS this study met the criteria suggested by Hair et al. (1998) with regard to factor loading, overall explained variance, and reliability analysis. Table 2. Factor and Reliability Analysis of the Model Subscale Categories Factor Explained Cumulative Cronbach s of factors loading variance (%) explained variance (%) IM.96 HRM HRM HRM HRM HRM HRM HRM C C C C C C MS MS MS MS MS MS MS MS ETR ETR ETR ETR ETR ETR JS.91 ES ES ES2.762 ES ES ES ES ES7.582

9 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS 1443 Table 2 continued Subscale Categories Factor Explained Cumulative Cronbach s of factors loading variance (%) explained variance (%) IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS SE.95 EL EL EL EL EL EL EL ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ES ES ES ES ES ES ES ELS ELS ELS ELS ELS ELS Notes: IM: Internal marketing; HRM: Human resources management; C: Communication; MS: Management support; ETR: Educational training; JS: Job satisfaction; ES: External satisfaction; IS: Internal satisfaction; SE: School effectiveness; EL: Effective learning; ET: Effective teaching; ES: Effective support from the community; ELS: Effective leadership.

10 1444 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS Results Evaluation of the Overall Model Before a latent variable model analysis is conducted, the validity and reliability of the constructs must be assessed. The unidimensionality and reliability of the scales must also be established before their convergent and discriminant validity is assessed (Anderson & Gerbing, 1982). Unidimensionality measures the extent to which the items in a scale all measure the same construct (Venkatraman, 1989) and can be assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A CFA was conducted for each of the three constructs to determine whether the 10 indicators measured adequately the construct to which they were assigned. In Table 3 it can be seen that, overall, the items had a certain degree of individual item reliability. Regarding composite reliability (CR), as the CR of each of the three latent variables were between.86 and.93, which is greater than the criterion (.6) suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981), this demonstrated the good CR of the latent variables. As to validity, factor loadings of the latent variables were greater than the threshold value (.45) suggested by Jöreskog and Sorbom (1992), showing that items reflect their latent variables. In addition, the average variance extracted (AVE) from each of the three latent variables was greater than the threshold value (.5). Thus, the model demonstrated good reliability and validity of measurement. The structural equation modeling (SEM) program AMOS was used throughout the study to conduct the analyses. According to the rule of thumb, comparative fit index (CFI) values of.90 or greater indicate an adequate model fit. For goodness of fit index (GFI) and adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI), coefficients closer to unity indicate a good fit, with acceptable levels of fit being above.90. According to a rule of thumb, the normed fit index (NFI) should also exceed.9 for a good model. In Table 4 the results of these tests are summarized. The GFI, AGFI, CFI, and NFI values are shown in Table 3. An analysis of the table reveals that all values are very high, ranging from.956 to 1.000, which indicates a very good model fit. Hypotheses Testing The full model is depicted in Figure 2. Of the three paths hypothesized in the model, all paths were significant at p <.001. Internal marketing directly affected teachers job satisfaction. The path coefficient for the relationship between internal marketing and job satisfaction was significant. Therefore, H1 was supported. Regarding H2, internal marketing had a direct effect on school effectiveness. The result also showed that internal marketing had a positive effect on school effectiveness. Therefore, this hypothesis was supported. My findings showed that internal marketing had a positive impact on both teachers

11 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS 1445 Table 3. Analysis of Measurement Model Measured variables Latent variables Item Factor loading SE Individual item reliability Names of variables CR AVE HRM Internal marketing MS ETR C ES Job satisfaction IS ELS School effectiveness ET EL ES Notes: IM: Internal marketing; HRM: Human resources management; C: Communication; MS: Management support; ETR: Educational training; JS: Job satisfaction; ES: External satisfaction; IS: Internal Satisfaction; SE: School effectiveness; EL: Effective learning; ET: Effective teaching; ES: Effective support from the community; ELS: Effective leadership. Table 4. Model Analysis X 2 GFI AGFI CFI RMR NFI Internal marketing (p >.05) Job satisfaction (p <.000) School effectiveness (p <.05)

12 1446 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS IS ES JS.94 ***.68 *** IM.82 ***.90 SE HRM MS ETR C ELS ET EL ES Figure 2. Structural modeling analyses. Job Satisfaction.84***.49*** Internal Marketing.41 *** School Effectiveness Figure 3. Job satisfaction as the mediator between internal marketing and school effectiveness.

13 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS 1447 job satisfaction and school effectiveness. In addition, the results showed that job satisfaction had a positive impact on school effectiveness, so H3 was also supported. Validation of Mediating Effects The mediating effects of job satisfaction on the relationship between internal marketing and school effectiveness are shown in Figure 3. The findings reported above demonstrated a significant relationship between the independent variable (internal marketing) and the mediator (job satisfaction). There was also a significant relationship between the mediator (job satisfaction) and dependent variable (school effectiveness). The direct influence of internal marketing on school effectiveness reached significant levels, indicating the partially mediating effects of job satisfaction. That is, the influence of internal marketing on school effectiveness was both direct and indirect. If mediation occurred in the analyses, then the relationship between internal marketing and school effectiveness would be reduced when the association involving the proposed intervening measure was taken into account. According to my results in this study, the direct level (.82) was more significant than the indirect level (.41). As Baron and Kenny (1986) indicate, variables function as mediators to the extent that they account for the relationships between predictors and outcomes. If full mediation occurred, then the relationships between internal marketing and school effectiveness would become insignificant after controlling for the associations between the intervening variables and outcomes. However, if the relationships were reduced but remained significant, then partial mediation would be demonstrated. According to the results, internal marketing indirectly influenced school effectiveness by mediating the processes of job satisfaction. Thus, Hypothesis 4 was supported. Discussion The focus of internal marketing is on customer satisfaction and organizational efficiency through continuous attention and improvement of the jobs that employees execute and the environment in which they execute them (Ahmed et al., 2003). School effectiveness and performance can be enhanced by providing good job conditions for teachers and by retaining effective teachers (Ting, 2010). In this study I found that internal marketing had a significant positive influence on job satisfaction and school effectiveness. As for the direct relationship between internal marketing and school effectiveness, I found that internal marketing had a direct influence on school effectiveness.

14 1448 CENTRAL TAIWAN PRIMARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS These findings are consistent with those gained in previous investigations (Chien & Lin, 2002; Kushman, 1992). Kushman found that teachers identification with, and devotion to, the school are essential factors that are critical in enhancing school efficacy. Chien and Lin found that teachers with better organizational support perform better, have a significant emotional attachment to the school, and put forth greater efforts to accomplish the organizational objectives. My results also showed that job satisfaction mediated the relationship between internal marketing and school effectiveness. According to Arnett et al. (2002), job satisfaction is one factor that has a significant and positive influence on employee behavior. That is, when individuals are satisfied with their job, they feel more responsibility to support the organization. Conclusion Traditionally, primary school leaders in Taiwan were expected to be directors who would assert authority and demand unquestioning obedience from subordinates (Fun, 2005). For authoritarian leaders, communication of a vision may not be something they consider to be part of their role. Based on my findings, primary school leaders in Taiwan need to emphasize a range of internal marketing strategies, such as creating a positive organizational climate, establishing effective communication channels, and offering a variety of educational training opportunities to enhance both teachers satisfaction and the effectiveness of the school. In this study I have not only extended the influential scope of the internal marketing theory to school effectiveness, but I have also suggested that job satisfaction is related to both effectiveness and internal marketing of schools, which is helpful in explaining why internal marketing activities can foster school effectiveness. The limitations of this study are, firstly, that data were collected only from teachers in Central Taiwan. Thus, the national and international applicability of study findings may be limited. In addition, I explored only the relationships among primary teachers perceptions of internal marketing, job satisfaction, and school effectiveness. The factors that affect school effectiveness are complex such as job characteristics, work environment, work experience, and management style and not all of these were included in the scope of this study. Despite these limitations, the findings are useful for informing and guiding future studies on this topic in Taiwan. References Ahmed, P. K., Rafiq, M., & Saad, N. M. (2003). Internal marketing and the mediating role of organizational competencies. European Journal of Marketing, 37, bzv8pb

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