Presenting a Structural-Interpretive Model of the Impact of Internal Marketing Management on Customer Value Creation with the Mediating Role of Digital Banking Platform Quality in the Digital Transformation Era (A Case Study of Eghtesad Novin Bank of Iran)

Abstract

The Iranian banking industry has experienced a rapid acceleration toward digitalization in recent years; however, many banks still lack a precise understanding of how to convert their human capital into digital value for customers. The present study was conducted with the aim of presenting a structural model for explaining the impact of internal marketing on customer satisfaction while considering the mediating role of electronic service quality in Eghtesad Novin Bank. This research is applied in terms of purpose, descriptive-correlational in terms of nature, and quantitative with an emphasis on structural equation modeling in terms of approach. The statistical population consisted of all employees of Eghtesad Novin Bank branches in Tehran, totaling 380 people. Using Cochran's formula, a sample size of 192 individuals was determined and selected through stratified random sampling. The data collection instrument consisted of three standard questionnaires, whose validity and reliability were confirmed through content validity, construct validity, Cronbach's alpha, and composite reliability, respectively. The data were analyzed using partial least squares method with SPSS and Smart-PLS software. The findings showed that internal marketing has both a direct (0.256) and an indirect effect (0.556) on customer satisfaction with the mediation of electronic service quality. The coefficient of the effect of internal marketing on electronic service quality was 0.765, which was significant at the 99 percent confidence level. Among the four dimensions of internal marketing, motivation had the strongest effect on customer satisfaction (0.742), while training and development had the strongest effect on electronic service quality (0.682). The VAF index was calculated as 0.624, indicating that approximately 62 percent of the effect of internal marketing on customer satisfaction is transmitted through electronic service quality. The coefficients of determination (R²) for electronic service quality (0.586) and customer satisfaction (0.739) indicated the strong expla natory power of the model. The most important innovation of the present study is the identification of the transmission mechanism through which internal marketing affects customer satisfaction via digital service quality—an issue that has received less attention in previous research conducted in Iran. The study recommends that managers of Eghtesad Novin Bank connect employee performance evaluation systems to electronic service quality indicators, design digital skills training programs for frontline employees, and establish internal-external feedback loops.