Aušrinė Greičiūtė-Solovejė

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Internal marketing is widely discussed, but its assessment remains fragmented, particularly in higher education institutions. This study aims to identify relevant aspects of internal marketing in higher education institutions, develop an extended item set, and conduct an initial exploratory analysis. Data were collected in January–February 2026 from a convenience sample of 105 respondents from Lithuanian higher education institutions.
The initial set comprised 55 items: 42 covered employee-oriented domains derived from the 11-item internal marketing framework, and 13 addressed management support, internal procedures, and employee appraisal. Principal component analysis suggested a provisional six-component structure, and 33 items were retained in the provisional item set. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure was 0.903, Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p < 0.001), and the total explained variance was 73.94%. The overall internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.965), although this value may also indicate possible item redundancy.
Given the small sample relative to the initial number of items, the convenience sampling strategy, and the incomplete analytical record of the item-reduction process, the findings should be interpreted as preliminary exploratory evidence rather than as validation of a measurement instrument. The proposed six-component structure should be regarded as unstable and sample-dependent and should be re-evaluated through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using substantially larger, independent samples. Potential differences among respondent groups were not examined. The results suggest that internal marketing in higher education institutions may encompass traditional employee-oriented aspects, management support, and procedural clarity.