The Mediating Role of Internal Resource Integration in Enhancing Customer Orientation for Firm Performance: Evidence from Islamic Microfinance Institutions

Faqih Nabhan; Dewi Kartika Sari

doi:10.30984/kunuz.v5i1.1352

Faqih Nabhan Universitas Islam Negeri Salatiga
Dewi Kartika Sari Universitas Islam Negeri Salatiga

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30984/kunuz.v5i1.1352

Keywords: customer orientation, firm performance, Islamic Microfinance Institutions, Internal Resource Integration

Abstract

This study was started by a research gap regarding the influence of customer orientation on firm performance. Grounded in the resource-based theory, it develops a research model to examine the effect of customer orientation on firm performance, with internal resource integration serving as a mediating variable. This research population consisted of managers of Islamic Microfinance Institutions (IMFIs) in Semarang Regency, with a purposive sample of 100 respondents. Using SmartPLS for data analysis, the findings reveal that customer orientation exerts a positive and significant effect on firm performance, that customer orientation positively and significantly influences internal resource integration, and that internal resource integration positively and significantly enhances firm performance. Moreover, internal resource integration is found to effectively mediate the relationship between customer orientation and firm performance. These results provide empirical support for the resource-based theory, highlighting that superior internal resource integration amplifies the impact of customer orientation on performance. Accordingly, firms are advised to strategically manage their internal resources to build sustainable competitive advantage and achieve long-term performance excellence.

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