Finding an Appropriate Means of Internal Marketing under Differing Cultural Circumstances : a Case Study of Swedbank (Sweden) & Minsheng Bank (China)

Research Objects: we choose two banks as research objects. One is a Swedish bank, Swedbank, which was founded in 1820, the other is a Chinese bank, Minsheng Bank (CMBC), which is a new bank when compared with Swedbank. Purpose & Aim: The 2008 financial crisis hurt banks badly, and consequently how they can become stronger to resist future crises and gain competitive advantages is a key topic for them. There is no doubt that there are many factors that makes a bank successful, but employees are one of the most important factors in a service industry. Therefore, this research study is focused on internal marketing in banks. In addition, this study will attempt to assess whether two banks can learn from each other through the comparison of their internal marketing efforts. Research Methodology: this study will rely on the data collected from the interviews with a manager and an employee from two banks. Books and articles are also been used for secondary data collection. Findings & Conclusion: The research revealed that Swedbank tend to do a better job in satisfying employees' needs, sharing value, having an appropriate organisational culture and being more conscious to treat the employees as customers, in comparison with CMBC. While CMBC need to make more effort in this regard, it does not mean that they must copy what Swedbank do, but rather to establish an appropriate organisational culture for their own internal market. Contribution & Suggestion: In the end, the suggestions have been listed for both banks to improve their internal marketing programme