Effect of internal marketing practices on sustainable performance of hotels in the central region of Ghana: The mediating role of organisational commitment

Abstract

The hotel industry has been one of the industries in Ghana recognized for creating jobs for thousands of “people and making a crucial contribution to the GDP of the country. However, a lot of their success and operations rely on their employees. Underpinned by the social exchange and resource-based theories, this study explored the relationship between internal marketing practices, organisational commitment and sustainable performance of hotels. The positivist philosophy guided the study. A sample size of”258 hotel sector personnel was determined using the Krejcie and Morgan table, the multi-stage sampling procedure, and the quantitative approach and cross-sectional research design were utilised in the study. Data were gathered with self-administered questionnaires, with a valid response of 245, representing a 94.9% response rate. The data was processed using SPSS version 25 and SmartPLS 4, and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was the data analysis tool utilised. The study discovered that staff training and internal communication had a significant impact on long-term success. On the other hand, employee empowerment hurts long-term performance. Conversely, the association between internal marketing practices and sustainable performance was not mediated by organisational commitment. The study concluded that internal communication and employee training are important predictors of sustainable performance.” Although employee empowerment is not a predictor of sustainable performance, managers and hotel owners should prioritize internal communication and employee training and provide their staff with the freedom to make well-informed decisions on their behalf.