An Inside-Out Marketing Strategy for Innovation among Human Service Nonprofits in South Korea

Abstract

In the increasingly competitive nonprofit market, innovation may be the only choice for survival among human service nonprofits. Considering the importance of service encounters and high dependence on human resources, internal marketing has potential as a management strategy to improve innovative activities in human service nonprofits. To examine the effect of internal marketing strategy focusing on employees, this study investigates the mediating effect of customer orientation in the pathway from internal marketing to innovation. The findings from 258 community-based social service centers in South Korea support the positive impact of internal marketing on customer orientation and innovation, although the significant evidence for the mediating effect of customer orientation is not found. The current study suggests implications for practice and future research.