Analysis of the Internal Marketing Dimensions in Social Economy Organizations: Study Applied to Co-operativism in Ecuador

Internal marketing involves the development of organizational strategies that promote the welfare of the employees who, in turn, play a transcendental role in achieving institutional goals. Ecuadoran co-operativism lacks relevant studies of this construct and, because of this, this research intends to analyze the dimensions of internal marketing, through the validation of a measuring instrument that has been adapted to this sector of the social economy, in a developing country. The methodology is based on the completion of field work, where a structured questionnaire for a representative sample of 2,499 employees and officers of the operatives of Ecuador was applied. The suitability of the scale was determined through the means of a model of Ecuadoran structural equations. The results show that internal marketing is a multi-dimensional construct and it can be measured in six dimensions: Identify Value Exchange (IVE), Internal Market Segmentation (IMS), Internal Communication (IC), Management Concern (MC), Training (TR), and Work/Family Balance (WFB).

INTRODUCTION
A globalized economy requires all the businesses, including co-operatives that are constantly restructuring to adapt to changes in the environment (Puusa et al., 2016); therefore, direct their efforts to human talent in order to improve their internal management. Taking into account that human capital is a resource that is difficult to imitate due to competition, it has thus become an important factor for organizational success (Teixeira, 2014). In this sense, Bailey et al. (2016) confirm that internal marketing should be considered as a strategy where the employees are involved in the goals of the organization and, thus, feel satisfied with the work done. For their part, González et al. (2016) consider that a committed employee actively contributes to the achievement of institutional goals. In this sense, research indicates that internal marketing is a serious alternative for increasing the employee's commitment to the organization and the subsequent satisfaction of the customer (Ali, 2016;Therasa et al., 2017).
Currently, internal marketing is a concept that continues to evolve to show the importance that relationships between employees and the organization have (Braimah, 2016;Park and Tran, 2018;Vieira-dos Santos and Goncalves, 2018). In this case, diverse authors (among others, Ruiz-Alba, 2013;Ruizalba et al., 2015;Mainardes et al., 2019) have defined it as the effort by the company to know, analyze, understand, and respond to the needs of its internal customers (employees). With reference to this, Papasolomou and Vrontis (2006) consider that investing in employee motivation is undoubtedly an essential requirement in the search for competitive advantages in businesses. As such, the essence of co-operatives, as social economy businesses, is related to the internal marketing dimensions given that it is based on balance among material, financial, and human resources (Fernández et al., 2018). Similarly, Ahmed and Rafiq (2003) indicated that internal marketing helps the development and maintenance of the inter-functional relationships among employees who, as internal customers, are involved in the co-creation of value, which is used to attain success within the organizations.
In this context, the International Cooperative Alliance has significantly contributed to the bilateral processes of knowledge transfer through inter-organizational relationships on a local, national, and international level, leading to the institutional strengthening of these co-operatives. For their part, the Swiss Co-operation Agency has driven the initiatives for strategy inclusion in the Ecuadoran business world, with internal marketing being one of them. However, these external contributions have not reached the management of all the co-operatives of this Latin American country. This leads us to the need to study the dimensions of internal marketing, in relation to the policies applied in this sector for the motivation and involvement of their employees. In any case, every country and global sector has a series of socio-economic and cultural activities and characteristics that make them different (Huang and Rundle-Thiele, 2014).
Accordingly, the co-operative sector faces diverse problems, such as inequality regarding incentives, excessive controls, bureaucracy, and strong competition, even with commercial companies. Therefore, the challenge that goes with this problem is focused on creating strategies that allow for taking advantage of strengths derived from its co-operative principles for the co-creation of value. This should guarantee continuity and expansion in the market (Ferraz et al., 2018). Hence, this study aims to provide a measurement tool that fits the specific needs and characteristics of the cooperative sector, considering the complexity of the study of this sector, which encompasses multiple activities. Mainly financial (savings and credit cooperatives) and non-financial (housing cooperatives, services, production, and consumption) stand out in Ecuador. This instrument could enable these organizations to know the perception of their employees, regarding the strategies that are implemented for the management of human capital and undertake improvement actions that allow the co-creation of value and organizational sustainability.
Therefore, the study of internal marketing in Ecuadorian cooperatives has been considered appropriate, since they represent a significant part of the social economy, especially in developing countries. Thus, the main objective of this research is to analyze and validate, if seen fit, the dimensions of internal marketing through the application of a measuring instrument adapted to the cooperative sector. With this starting point, this study uses the Jaworski and Kohli (1993) and Lings (1999) model, with this being the one which best supports the compliance of the aim of the investigation, due to having a synergy connection between the internal market (business) and the internal customer (employee). The suggested scale corresponds to the adaptation of the internal marketing dimensions considered by various authors (among others, Ruizalba et al., 2014Ruizalba et al., , 2015Kim et al., 2016;Cerqueira et al., 2018).
This article is structured into five main sections and begins with the literature review, which consists of the scientific basis before this study. Secondly, there is the methodology of the research based on the field work and the measuring scale. In the following, the results will be presented through a model of structural equations and their discussion. Finally, the conclusions are suggested, as well as the limitations of the study and future lines of research.

Internal Marketing
Strategic management is a significant element that leads to the success of an organization, a process which should be focused on employees, who, with their intellectual capacity, skills, abilities, and motivations, provide jobs that are prone to achieving institutional goals (Abzari et al., 2011). The approaches presented by the conceptualizations of internal marketing also determine its influence on the external client, since an adequate working climate, where the wishes and needs of employees are considered, implies a better performance in their work activities. This, in turn, significantly influences external customer satisfaction (Lizote et al., 2019).
Internal marketing has its origin in the work of Berry et al. (1976), although this construct continues to be in constant evolution, allowing for advances in its conceptualization. In this way, Lings (1999) proposes that, in addition to the employee knowing the business' information, the officers should be interested in the employees' needs and wishes. From this point of view, Ahmed and Rafiq (2002) define internal marketing as the planned effort of motivating employees through marketing techniques, to implant and integrate business strategies aimed at the customer. In addition, Anosike and Ahmed (2009) indicate that the exchange of ideas between an employer and an employee contributes to achieving common benefits. For their part, Cerqueira et al. (2018) propose treating employees as internal customers and their activities as internal products, which satisfy the needs and wishes of external customers.
As such, the adoption of internal marketing allows for the business to align its strategies with the needs of the internal customer in order to introduce benefits to the organization (Gounaris et al., 2010). In this way, institutions that apply this management philosophy ensure the efficiency of the service provided by the employees, which would help improve the satisfaction of the external customer (Barzoki and Ghujali, 2013;Jaeger et al., 2016;Lizote et al., 2019). In this respect, Oliveira and Pataco (2017) confirm that motivated and loyal employees have more positive attitudes toward their businesses and their management, which leads to an increase in income. In this context, the internal marketing approach is basically aimed at all the interactive activities within the institutions, with the purpose of providing a quality work environment (Zebal, 2018). Because of this, the understanding of the dimensions of this construct allows for identifying the dimension that most contributes to the co-creation of value, given that internal marketing influences attitudes and behavior of the internal customer to transmit it, by doing so, to the external customer (Dean et al., 2016;Chiu et al., 2019).
The boom that has occurred in internal marketing in recent times comes from research that suggests diverse activities tending to know, analyze, and respond to the needs of employees, which has given way to the dimensions of this construct (Ruizalba et al., 2015). In this case, the theoretical references regarding internal marketing models and their dimensions were proposed by the precursors in this construct (Parasuraman et al., 1985;Grönroos, 1990;Jaworski and Kohli, 1993;Lings, 1999;Rafiq and Ahmed, 2000;Bansal et al., 2001).
Based on this, the importance of the dimensions which cover internal marketing in the co-operatives of Ecuador is highlighted, considering that it generates co-creation of value to the service, which provides the institutions that have applied it; thus, it improves their results (Yu et al., 2018). This has determined a growing interest from the officers and those responsible in the dimensions of internal marketing, as a primordial factor within the good practices of internal management. Albassami et al. (2015) shows that it is not only a statement of intent, but that it also respects the rights of the workers, bearing in mind equality, no discrimination, a dignified job, conciliation between family and professional life, etc. As such, it is necessary to consider the aspects indicated beforehand to measure internal marketing, with the idea of developing a measuring instrument of this construct that can be considered an effective tool for the management when making strategic decisions (Park and Tran, 2018).

Dimensions of Internal Marketing
The analysis of the internal marketing dimensions sifts a fundamental part of the overall management of a business given that, through its study and application, the employee's satisfaction and the subsequent achievement of the same goals can be reached (Abzari et al., 2011). This is the reason why diverse studies (among others, Lings and Greenley, 2010;Ali, 2016;Braimah, 2016) have led to defining two important variables within internal marketing, with the first being the identification of the business as an internal market and, the second, the determination of the employees as internal customers. In this way, the dimensions of this construct are projected to highlight these characteristics (Foreman and Money, 1995;Lux et al., 1996). However, Parasuraman et al. (1985) and Grönroos (1990) propose a unidimensional model of internal marketing, considering only the macro-dimension of customer orientation. Despite this model having been used in current research (among others, Yildiz and Ali, 2017;Piha and Avlonitis, 2018), it has been the subject of criticism and restructuring due to the limitations that it provides in the real application of the internal marketing strategies in businesses of different sizes and in different activity sectors.
All of this has led to the development of models, which determine a multi-dimensional perspective of internal marketing. In this sense, Jaworski and Kohli (1993) and Lings (1999) distinguish three dimensions of this construct: (1) generation of internal intelligence, (2) Internal Communication (IC), and (3) response to internal intelligence, which, at the same time, is divided into six sub-dimensions. For their part, Rafiq and Ahmed (2000) complete a redesign of the one-dimensional model of Parasuraman et al. (1985) and Grönroos (1990), adding three new dimensions: (1) empowerment, (2) interfunctional co-ordination, and (3) communication, establishing a model of four dimensions. Afterward, Bansal et al. (2001) suggest a model of six internal marketing dimensions: (1) employment security, (2) extensive training, (3) generous rewards, (4) sharing information, (5) employee empowerment, and (6) reduced status distinction.
The application of the Jaworski and Kohli (1993) and Lings (1999) model in various studies has made it possible to determine the validity and consistency of its dimensions, albeit with a focus on mercantilist companies and in a geographical and cultural field different from that under study in this research (Ruizalba et al., 2015;Kim et al., 2016;Cerqueira et al., 2018).
More recent studies (among others, Ruizalba et al., 2014;Braimah, 2016;Cerqueira et al., 2018;Park and Tran, 2018;Mero et al., 2020) have redesigned the three dimension model of Jaworski and Kohli (1993) and Lings (1999), considering the initial sub-dimensions of the same as true first-class dimensions, which has led them to the suggestion of a much more complete and versatile model of six dimensions: Identify Value Exchange (IVE), Internal Market Segmentation (IMS), IC, Management Concern (MC), Training (TR), and work/ family. For this reason, this research will use this vision of six internal marketing dimensions as a reference; given its great adaptability to different socio-economic environments which, in this empirical study, applies to Ecuador's co-operativism, considered a developing country.
Using this model, it should be indicated that the IVE dimensions' job is to collect information about the internal market, so that what the employees hope to receive from the business is known, as well as the benefits that they are going to give to the business. This component occurs when hiring staff, when the values of new staff are identified, as well as those of the organization, so as to know if they share the same philosophy (Lings, 2004). On the other hand, the IMS dimension, involves the separation of functions which each employee of the organization performs, considering aspects of macro-segmentation (socio-demographic aspects) and microsegmentation (attitude, behavior, etc.), all of this at diverse levels of management (Gounaris, 2006). For its part, the IC dimension is essential in all the interpersonal relationships that help the development of activities through the exchange of information between the leader and the employees (Chiu et al., 2019). In this sense, Ahmed and Rafiq (2002) show that communication should be extended to different levels of the organization, to be able to influence the behavior of all the employees. As such, the improvement of IC could offer unique capacities for a significant performance in the target market (Danso et al., 2017). MC, as an internal marketing dimension, suggests that supervisors should worry about knowing the present and future expectations that workers have (Ruizalba et al., 2014); disclosing good management practices to motivate employees in the performance of their work (Chareonwongsak, 2017). In relation to TR, this dimension looks to prepare employees in the development of abilities and capacities that the work position requires and, in turn, means an opportunity for its growth within the business (Abbas and Riaz, 2018).
Finally, in terms of the Work/Family Balance (WFB) dimension, Narteh (2012) considers the family as an interest group (stakeholder) of the business itself. And, in this case, businesses that want to keep their best employees have to favor the development of policies that allow for the harmonization of family and work life, as both are mutually sustained (Tang et al., 2020). These employees will feel understood by the business, when it develops strategies to reconcile their work and family life (Ruizalba et al., 2014;Solat et al., 2020).
In conclusion, the multi-dimensional vision of internal marketing has been analyzed in different empirical studies, mainly focused on the United States, Europe, and Asia, with excellent results that have allowed for the consolidation of internal marketing in these geographical areas (Clampitt and Downs, 1993;Back et al., 2011;Hoque et al., 2018), but there is an important deficit of empirical research regarding this construct in Latin America.

Survey Design
The aim of this study is to analyze the dimensions of internal marketing, through the validation of a measuring instrument applicable to co-operativism in Ecuador. To achieve this, a preliminary list of measuring items was suggested; this was generated after a review of the literature related to the internal marketing dimensions. In the adaptation phase of the questionnaire, a review with Ecuadoran specialists involved with the popular and solidary economy sector (referred to in this way in the Latin American country) was carried out and used to discard errors in terms and understanding. Afterward, a pre-test was given to 40 participants, to detect possible deviations and errors directly in the field being studied.
The questionnaires have been prepared from two points of view, the administrators that represent the organization and the employees as internal customers. The structure of the questionnaire consists of open and closed questions, regarding aspects such as work and socio-demographic details. For their part, these items of internal marketing dimensions are measured using a Likert scale of five points, giving the surveyees the options that range between (1 = completely disagree and 5 = completely agree).

Data Collection
The procedure of the field work consisted of a survey in situ with staff that works in the co-operatives. This questionnaire was applied to a team of surveyors from the Eloy Alfaro de Manabí Lay University (Ecuador). Initially, the purpose of the study was explained to the administrators of every co-operating party, requesting the respective permission of the employees. The questionnaires were designed in Spanish and they were complemented under the presence of surveyors, with the aim of responding to any question that may arise. The field work was done between the months of January and April 2018. The rejection rate was very low and it was not related to any specific variable. The length of the survey never lasted more than 15 min, in any case.

Sample and Sampling Error
The population of this study includes administrators and employees of financial and non-financial co-operatives in Ecuador. As such, a stratified sampling was carried out which obtained 2,499 surveys. The co-operatives in Ecuador are classified in financials, who are additionally subdivided into segments from 1 to 5 (in terms of the figure of assets) and into non-financials, which are grouped by their branch of activity, with these being services, housing, production, and consumption (Superintendencia de Economía Popular y Solidaria (SEPS), 2017). The sample is distributed among 1,414 women and 1,085 men. The ages range from 18 to 60. A sample error of ±1.89% was considered for a confidence level of 95%.

Data Analysis
Once the field work was finished, the verification of the data was undertaken, removing all those questionnaires that present absent values in any item. The SSPS v.23 software was used, where the descriptions for each one of the elements was calculated, studying its asymmetry, together with normality, on a univariant level as well as on a multi-variant one. Secondly, an exploratory factorial analysis and another confirmatory one were carried out, with a structural equations model to study the validity of the scale, using Amos Graphics v23 software. For the development of the research, a quantitative approach was applied, which was based on a deductive plan to look for mechanisms to confirm the viability of the instruments used.

Design of the Measuring Scale
The theoretical analysis regarding internal marketing has allowed for the definition of this construct with its respective questions that were applied in the adaptation of the questionnaire, in a way which contributes with the information needed to achieve the aim of the study. The structure of the questionnaire consists of aspects related to socio-demographic data, such as age, sex, education, marital status, and children; as well as those related to work position and contract type, working day, length of service, role, and pay, among others. This information allows us to identify the organizational structure of Ecuadoran co-operatives. On the other hand, the dimensions of internal marketing are based on the current re-design of the Jaworski and Kohli (1993) and Lings (1999) models, based on six dimensions: IVE (four items), IMS (three items), IC (four items), MC (five items), TR (three items), and WFB (three items).

Validity of the Measuring Scale
In the exploratory factor analysis, the method of main components with varimax rotation (maximum variance) was applied, which determined that all the common factors are greater than one, thus considering that they are adequate with the variables. The viability of the factorial analysis was evaluated with the following criteria: the original correlations presented a large number of correlations (88.90% with a value greater than 0.30), Bartlett's test for sphericity showed that the variables were not independent [χ 2 (231) = 11,114.48, p < 0.001]. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of appropriate sampling obtained a value of 0.893, being considered to be adequate. All the values of the Measures of Sampling Adequacy (MSA) were found to be above 0.88. In the varimax rotation (Table 1), the criteria used for assigning an item to the factor was that which presented a factorial load greater than 0.30, which explains 72.31% of the total variance, determining six factors in this way. The first factor explains 15.63% of the total variance and has high and positive correlations with items 1-4; therefore, we call this first factor or dimension IVE. The second factor explains 12.37% of the total variance and has a positive correlation with items 5-7; identifying this factor as IMS. The third factor represents 11.61% of the total variance, with a positive correlation with items 8-11; which we refer to as IC. The fourth factor which explains 11.38% of the total variance has a positive correlation with items 12-16; which is known as MC. The fifth factor explains 11.32% of the total variance, having a positive correlation with items 17-19; and which we call TR. Finally, the sixth factor represents 10% of the total variance and has a positive correlation with items 20-22; this factor or dimension is known as WFB.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis
The previous results of the exploratory analysis confirm the appropriateness of the measuring scale. Additionally, a confirmatory analysis with a model of structural equations and the application of the extraction method of maximum plausibility was carried out. All of this allows for the discovery of the convergent validity of the instrument proposed in the exploratory factor analysis, whose structure consists of six dimensions and 22 indicators in total. The results obtained were statistically significant (p < 0.05) and the factorial loads presented values greater than 0.5 by which we can indicate that all of the indicators satisfactorily saturate each latent variable. Definitively, it can be confirmed that the proposed model regarding the factorial structure of the scale is consistent (Figure 1).
For the analysis of the model's Goodness of Fit Indexes (GFIs), comparative fit statistics were used, such as: Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker Lewis Index (TLI), and Normed Fit Index (NFI). In this way as well, the unhurried fits GFI, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA). A confidence interval of 90% was considered. The results of the CFI, TLI, and NFI fit indexes show values greater than 0.96. For their part, the GFI and AGFI indexes presented values greater than 0.97 and the value obtained from the RMSEA is 0.048 ( Table 2). These results indicate that the fit of the initial theoretical scale model is high. With respect to the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used which determines the internal consistency of the items of each of the dimensions. Bryman (2004) and Sekaran and Bougie (2010) coincide that Cronbach's alpha coefficient, with an average of 0.5-0.7, is a moderate and acceptable level for research in social sciences. Thus, the greater the coefficient, the better the reliability of the scale will be (IVE = 0.921, IMS = 0.899, IC = 0.914, MC = 0.865, TR = 0.876, WFB = 0.899), which indicates a very high reliability.

DISCUSSION
Internal marketing originated from the need to improve the quality of services offered to external clients and through motivation, satisfaction, and the commitment of the employees, knowing that an employee who is satisfied and integrated in the business project increases the organization's productivity and income (Mishra, 2018). This determines a strong relationship between employees and the orientation to the internal market with the development of competitive advantages for organizations. Employees are considered as unique assets, difficult to copy or imitate by competition and so, the orientation to the internal  market involves indirectly influencing the perception of the external customer (Mainardes et al., 2019). In this context, the literature review leads us to the analysis of the possible multidimensionality of internal marketing. Recent studies show such characterization in the empirical application of different theoretical models (Tang et al., 2020). With this background, the need to propose the adaptation of a scale that allows to measuring the relationship of each of the dimensions immersed in this construct and its adjustment to the particularities of the cooperative sector in developing countries is appropriate. Matters that seek to strengthen strategic management and provide tools that help to co-create value with what has been considered its brand of identification, that is to say, the co-operative principles and values in order to improve the labor climate in the organization (Dean et al., 2016;Dong et al., 2016;Kesen et al., 2017).
The study carried out allows for ensuring the validity and reliability of a scale to measure the dimensions of internal marketing in the co-operativism of Ecuador. In this way, the adaptation of the questionnaire used instruments that had already been applied to different empirical studies in different geographic environments. Among them is Ruizalba et al. (2014), which adopted and validated a questionnaire with six dimensions, through an empirical study applied to the hotel sector in Spain with a sample of 750 hotels. Similarly, Ali (2016) focused his work on five dimensions comprising 26 items, applied to 305 employees of the Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Transport of Egypt, obtaining significant results in all its dimensions. Sarker and Ashrafi (2018) applied a tool that analyzed seven dimensions of internal marketing, with a target population of 250 retail store employees in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the significant effect on employee satisfaction was evident. In turn, Ramos (2018) in his research on this construct, considered the employees of 39 financial institutions in the Philippines, who used a five-dimensional composite instrument, obtaining results appropriate to the objectives set.
More recently, Chiu et al. (2019) proposed a five-dimensional internal marketing measurement instrument, which was applied to workers from various sports centers in the city of Tapei, the results of which revealed adequate adjustments to the model. Tang et al. (2020) conducted a study based on an eight-dimensional scale, which reflects the perceptions of flight attendants of the most recognized airlines in the United States, in order to determine the effect of internal marketing on workers' happiness, resulting in all dimensions having significant and positive relationships, with the exception of the compensation dimension.
This research context reflects the gap in the study of internal marketing in the sector of the social economy to which cooperatives belong, which are basically governed by universal principles focused on the human being. Reciprocity and balance are expected from these institutions in the actions employeesorganization, in compliance with the principle of mutual assistance (Mero et al., 2020). It is for this reason that this quantitative study applied to employees and managers of Ecuadorian cooperatives has been raised, proving that it is appropriate and supports the internal marketing dimensions of the redesigned model of Jaworski and Kohli (1993) and Lings (1999), in its most recent and adapted version of six dimensions: IVE, IMS, IC, MC, TR, and WFB. It is important to indicate that the dimensions of this construct show bi-directionality (business-employee) in its structure, resulting in its easy adaptation for any type of institution of social economy, considering the few studies in this area of activity.

CONCLUSION
Internal marketing is one of the primordial factors in the management of human talent and, for its development, strategies should be established which bear in mind the dimensions of this construct, with the purpose of satisfying the internal customer. Therefore, it shall provide a quality service that adapts to the characteristics and needs of the external customer, increasing the practices of co-creation of value through it. The results of this study provide a multi-dimensional instrument for measuring internal marketing, which seeks to strengthen the strategic management of the human resources of Ecuadorian cooperatives. Therefore, the study on the dimensions of this construct has its main application in the presentation of a scale that allows to measuring internal marketing, in such a way that they help these organizations to improve their relationship with employees. It should be considered that recent studies focused on this construct have been applied in purely mercantilist companies in United States, Europe, and Asia with satisfactory results. However, each area of application has different culture, values, norms, and ways of thinking and behaving; which justifies the necessary adaptation and validation of a questionnaire in accordance with the reality of Ecuadoran co-operativism in order to achieve the aims of the research.
The novelty of the study for the cooperative sector is highlighted, since they have different areas of activity and different market orientation than mercantilist companies. These institutions of the social economy have been identified by their co-operative values and principles, where the spirit of participation and collaboration for the search of socio-economic wellbeing and the satisfaction of their stakeholder are very important. With this idea, the measuring instrument for internal marketing for the co-operatives of this developing Latin American country has been obtained as a result of the empirical study carried out and its validation, demonstrating that internal marketing can be measured through six dimensions and 22 items, correlated among them, unlike the other studies where five dimensions have been proposed for the most part.
Definitively, the measuring scale provided in this research becomes an instrument that can be used in other sectors, financial ones as well as non-financial ones, given that the Ecuadoran co-operatives develop their activity in different sectorial environments, such as services, housing, production, and consumption, among others, and in very different volumes of business. As such, this research offers a tool for analyzing internal marketing, appropriately adaptable to different organizational realities.
Its application will allow leaders and managers to know the needs and expectations that employees have and, this way, improve the efficient management of human capital in their company. In addition, this implementation would also assist the specific control body of the Ecuadorian government, the Super intendency of Popular and Solidarity Economy, responsible for its promotion and control.
The study presented limitations in relation to the previous data regarding the number of employees in the co-operatives, due to there not being an official reference on behalf of the Popular and Solidary Economy Superintendent of the Government of Ecuador. As such, it was necessary to work with an approximate standard provided by the Ministry of Labor in this country. Finally, for future lines of investigation, we propose the application of this measuring instrument to other business groups with the purpose of ratifying the signaled adaptability and, in addition, analyzing whether there is a relationship among internal marketing and other variables of human capital management, such as, for example, the organizational commitment. Finally, a more in-depth study of the causal relationship between the dimensions of internal marketing and the co-creation of value in these institutions of social economy would be interesting.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

ETHICS STATEMENT
Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent for participation was not required for this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
FG, NM, ML, and AH conceptualized the work and reviewed the literature, interpreted and curated the data, and wrote the manuscript. The authors read and revised the manuscript several times. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.


s2fieldsofstudy: Business Economics

text:
Partnering Small Enterprises and Local Nonprofits to Help Sustain Local Economies and Reduce the Spread of COVID‐19

A lesson learned from decades of research is that businesses and nonprofits can form private partnerships to serve the public good. One such partnership is a cause‐related marketing campaign, where a business donates a portion of its sales to a nonprofit to address a social need. To help counter the devastating health and economic impact of COVID‐19, this article briefly describes how small enterprise and nonprofit partnerships might implement local cause‐related marketing campaigns focused on sustaining economic activity and slowing the spread of the pandemic. Successful campaigns may also enhance community self‐reliance and reduce health inequities. Public policies and programs could encourage these private partnerships.

Introduction
In just over six months, COVID-19 spread from China to 188 countries, resulting in nearly 13 million confirmed cases, and over 566,000 deaths worldwide (Center for Systems Science and Engineering [CSSE], 2020). In response to this global pandemic, many countries or smaller jurisdictions have implemented partial or complete shutdowns of nonessential economic activity. Early estimates predict that protracted partial shutdowns could reduce the level of gross domestic product by over 20 percent in many advanced economies. To mitigate the economic impact of this pandemic, international, national, and subnational agencies are offering a wide variety of financial and technical assistance to key stakeholders in the public and private sectors (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2020a[OECD], , 2020b. In addition to the laudable public-private partnership model, research has also shown that businesses and nonprofits 1 can form private partnerships to help serve the public good during a crisis. For instance, businesses might work with nonprofits to improve social well-being through philanthropic donations, workforce volunteering, and other socially responsible activities (Kotler, Hessekiel, & Lee, 2012). One type of partnership is called cause-related marketing (CRM), where a business donates a portion of its sales to a nonprofit partner to help it address a social need, such as health care or food insecurity. In return, the business benefits from being publicly associated with a good cause in promotional materials (Thomas, Kureshi, & Vatavwala, 2019;Varadarajan & Menon, 1988). This article briefly describes how micro, small, and medium for-profit enterprises (MSMEs) 2 might partner with local nonprofits, and other entities serving the public good, to implement community-based CRM campaigns to help sustain economic activity, slow the spread of COVID-19, and reduce health inequities. 3

Background
The basic steps in a CRM campaign are (i) a firm and a nonprofit form a partnership to address a public need or cause; (ii) they formally agree on the campaign's elements, such their respective responsibilities, the scope of the firm's sales included in the campaign (e.g., all sales, certain brands or products), and the percent of sales revenues to be donated to the nonprofit; (iii) they jointly implement the campaign for a specific time frame; and (iv) the nonprofit spends the donation addressing the designated cause. One or both partners promote the campaign to the target consumers, and update the public on its progress and use of the donations (Lafferty, Lueth, & McCafferty, 2016;Thomas et al., 2019;Varadarajan & Menon, 1988).
The objectives of a CRM campaign are to produce financial rewards for the partners (sales revenues for the firm and donations for the nonprofit) and social rewards for the public. A successful campaign can also yield significant secondary benefits for the partners, such as enhancing their reputations, increasing their participant base, and/or enhancing their management capacity (Lafferty et al., 2016;Thomas et al., 2019). On the contrary, participating in a campaign also poses risks to the firm and/or the nonprofit, such as straining limited resources, undermining their principal mission, and/or hurting their reputation (Runté, Basil, & Deshpande, 2009;Russo & Tencati, 2009;Schiller & Almog-Bar, 2013).
One of the earliest CRM campaigns, in the United States during the 1960s, illustrates a basic small-scale campaign. In this case, a local pharmacy partnered with a neighborhood nonprofit in a four-year campaign to raise funds for youth recreation. The nonprofit collected the pharmacy's register receipts from neighborhood customers and returned them to the pharmacy, which then donated 2 percent of the value of collected receipts to the nonprofit. The nonprofit used the donations to purchase recreational equipment for a local public park (Donahue, 2017).
Over the decades, there has been a dramatic rise in the use of CRM in numerous advanced and emerging economies. For example, by 2014, CRM accounted for nearly $2 billion in U.S. corporate spending. Much of the CRM research literature describes large campaigns sponsored by partnerships between national corporations, such as credit card companies, food manufacturers, online retailers, and national or regional nonprofits (Lafferty et al., 2016;Thomas et al., 2019).
Recent research suggests that CRM is becoming more diverse, such as its use by MSMEs or in developing and emerging economies, and having diverse goals, such as promoting health care or reducing the risk of a disaster (Aliperti, Rizzi, & Frey, 2018;Kumar, Singh, Pereira, & Leonidou, 2020;Russo & Tencati, 2009).

Discussion
In 2011, there were over 400 million formal and informal MSMEs operating around the world, and over 350 million operating in developing economies. Research suggests that, in many countries, they are a major source of employment and help to drive economic growth (Stein, Ardic, & Hommes, 2013). Another significant part of many national economies is the nonprofit sector, often contributing to over 3 percent of the gross national product, and over 40 percent of the economic value coming from the health and social service sectors (United Nations, 2018). Given the severe health and economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, MSMEs and nonprofits have a vested interest in working to help sustain the local economy, such as safeguarding the health of employees, customers, and volunteers (Katz et al., 2018;OECD, 2020a). Partnering in a CRM campaign is one strategy that they could use to strengthen local economic and health infrastructures.
One illustrative example of a health-care cause that a local CRM campaign could address would be handwashing. According to a WHO-UNICEF program, hand hygiene is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19. Yet, according to estimates from 2016 and 2017, about three billion people worldwide do not have soap and water at home. Within some countries there are large inequalities in hygiene services, with many homes, schools, and/or health-care facilities lacking indoor water and soap (Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene [JMP], 2020). CRM campaigns that provided more water and supplies to those in need of hygiene services can help to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, like COVID-19, and mitigate existing health inequities attributed to wealth. Of course, the extent of these impacts would depend on several factors, such as the size, location, and effectiveness of the campaigns.
Essential MSMEs conducting in-person and/or online transactions with customers, such as food vendors, pharmacies, or supply stores, could partner with a local nonprofit or community-based organization serving the public good, such as a local association, cooperative, or club. The MSME and the nonprofit would agree that a certain percent of the firm's sales, over a specified period, would be donated to the nonprofit. The nonprofit could use the donations to purchase and distribute water, soap, or other handwashing supplies to needy residents. Alternatively, the nonprofit could recirculate the donations through the local economy by using a portion of the donations to issue microloans or grants to small disadvantaged enterprises to make and sell soap, face coverings, and other hygienic supplies. CRM hygiene-focused campaigns that also provide income for the hygienic-supply workers would help them continue to purchase food, medicine, and/or housing, further reducing the spread of disease and mitigating existing health inequities due to wealth.
A common finding from CRM research is that successful campaigns have several common attributes, such as a formal agreement between the partners detailing the terms and respective responsibilities; a clear link between the cause and the MSME's goods or services; and clear goals, expectations, and measurable results that are publicly reported. Moreover, they have a sufficient balance of trust, respect, and equity among the MSME, the nonprofit, customers, and beneficiaries (e.g., Schiller & Almog-Bar, 2013;Thomas et al., 2019;Varadarajan & Menon, 1988).

Conclusions and Policy Implications
MSMEs and nonprofits have a vested interest and critical roles to play in sustaining local economies and mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic during whole or partial shutdowns. CRM is one of the strategies that they could deploy to strengthen their local economy and health care during this ongoing crisis. A successful campaign could produce a form of mutual financial aid between the MSME and local nonprofit. It may also enhance a community's self-reliance because implementing a campaign does not require the involvement of public agencies or other types of outside institutions. Last, an inclusive and successful campaign could reduce some of the health inequities experienced by poor vulnerable groups by empowering them as employees, customers, volunteers, or beneficiaries in this community-based response.
Sponsoring a CRM campaign is a private policy decision made between a MSME and a nonprofit to raise funds to help address a community cause or need through commercial transactions. One of the broader policy implications is whether public agencies and/or larger private institutions, such as business associations or nongovernment organizations (NGOs), could develop programs or policies to educate MSMEs and nonprofits about CRM, and help them find and implement these partnerships.

Limitations and Bias
Even though the published research describes CRM campaigns implemented in numerous countries, much of this literature focuses on national campaigns conducted in the United States through large corporations and national nonprofits. The applicability of these reported findings to the implementation of community-based CRM campaigns in other cultures will surely vary. There are few examples, standards, or metrics to guide MSMEs and local nonprofits in implementing and/or assessing their CRM campaign. Last, a CRM campaign could perpetuate existing health inequities if its outputs intentionally benefit only a favored group, and neglect other deserving beneficiaries (e.g., Russo & Tencati, 2009;Schiller & Almog-Bar, 2013;Thomas et al., 2019). One way CRM campaign partners can mitigate such risks is by reporting progress and use of donations to the wider public on a regular basis. This type of campaign visibility and transparency can enhance public awareness and accountability of the campaign implementation and outcomes (Lafferty et al., 2016;Thomas et al., 2019;Varadarajan & Menon, 1988).
Patricia Farrell Donahue, PhD, owner of Public Policy Research, LLC, and a policy fellow at George Mason University, conducts research exploring participation and its recursive relationship with political, economic, and social structures in different communities.

Notes
Conflicts of interest: None declared. Corresponding author: Patricia Farrell Donahue, pdonahue@gmu.edu 1. Nonprofits are private organizations where willing participants work to address identified gaps in the delivery of public goods or services. Nonprofits, and other entities with similar purposes, can vary significantly in size and form, from large incorporated charities to small community-based groups (United Nations, 2018). 2. In general, microenterprises have fewer than five employees, small enterprises have fewer than 50 employees, and medium enterprises employ fewer than 250 employees. Formal enterprises are registered with a public agency or tax authority, whereas informal entities are not (Stein, Ardic, & Hommes, 2013). 3. Health inequities refer to avoidable or remediable differences in the health of groups of people stemming from a failure to avoid or overcome inequalities that infringe on fairness and human rights norms (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020).


Pre-Departure Training and Personal Resources: How it Affects Acculturative Stress?

One of the efforts made by the government to reduce the unemployment rate in Indonesia is by conducting an overseas apprenticeship program. As an international assignment, this apprenticeship program leads to social problems such as stress. This research seeks to examine and analyze the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress with personal resources as a moderating variable. The respondents of this study were 215 migrant workers from West Java. This research used process analysis to analyze data. The result shows that there is a negative influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress. Whereas, personal resources strengthen the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress. The higher a level of personal resources possessed, the more it will strengthen the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress. These findings support the statement that personal resources are one of the leading indicators that affect an individual’s performance at work.

Introduction
The problem of unemployment has been a significant problem for a long time. According to the Central Statistics Agency, until February 2018, the number of workforces in Indonesia had reached 133.94 million. It increased by 2.9 million compared to the previous year, while the open unemployment rate in Indonesia reached 5.13% or reduced by around 140 thousand people compared to last year. This unemployment rate has been the lowest unemployment rate since the 1998 crisis (Katadata.co.id, 2018). This trend is evidence that the labor market in Indonesia is growing.
Although the unemployment rate in Indonesia has decreased, the problem of unemployment remains a challenge for the government to reduce unemployment. One of the efforts made by the government to reduce the unemployment rate in Indonesia is by conducting an apprenticeship program abroad, namely Japan.
However, working in a foreign country will be considered a challenge by immigrant workers and will give more pressure to them. They have to be able to adjust to the new cultures. Migrant workers will also face socio-cultural problems such as social relations with coworkers, competition and the demands of professional work that occur in the work environment, salary issues, awards and feelings of confusion and homesickness felt by workers are often the case for migrant workers who work abroad (Kvist, 2012;Granskaya & Lizhenkova, 2015;Kirana, 2013).
The survey which is conducted by Nugraha et al. (2017) on migrant workers in Japan shows that migrant workers are facing challenges such as differences in culture, language, the background of each individual, job demands, and expensive living costs. This condition affects the psychological health that leads to the stress of migrant workers. Besides, the Japanese culture that is considered taboo by migrant workers, the role and responsibility gaps in the workplace between Japanese culture and Indonesia, as well as the difficulties in establishing relationships with colleagues are things that can cause stress for migrant workers (Hatanaka et al., 2016). Setyowati et al. (2010) also suggested that migrant workers in Japan experience stress and difficulty in socializing, such as feeling isolated while living in Japan and having difficulty communicating with residents. Besides, Japanese culture that is considered a taboo by migrant workers, the gap in roles and responsibilities in the workplace, and the difficulties in establishing relationships with colleagues are things that can trigger the stress of migrant workers (Hatanaka et al., 2016). Those differences such as culture, language, and habits and the lack of networks that can trigger stress on migrant workers are called acculturative stress or culture shock (Rosida, 2018). Every individual has a different way of dealing with acculturative stress. Some individuals are critical of cultural differences, adaptable to cultural differences, and begin to adopt these cultures, and some are not able to adapt to the new environment (Selmer, 1999).
In order to minimize the acculturative stress, training needs to prepare migrant workers to deal with a new environment. Pre-departure training is one of the essential preparations before migrant workers depart and to reduce their culture shock and stress level (Xia, 2009). It allows migrant workers to have knowledge about culture and learn how to behave and communicate correctly both in the social and business environment. If the migrant workers are not provided with knowledge about culture and how to cope with stress, then they will secede from the community and have a negative life (Murali et al., 2017). Through predeparture training, migrant workers will also be provided with how to develop their mindset for learning, giving the idea of how they have to behave, and what kind of discussion can be accepted when they are involved in a conversation.
The training also needs to be supported by soft skills, which are essential aspects that must be possessed when working. The stress experienced by the workforce depends on how the workers perceive the stress and how they deal with it. Therefore, the workers should need to have and develop potential and resilience when faced with situations where adaptability, ability to overcome problems, ability to regulate themselves, and social skills are essential. Personal resources are considered to be the most important thing and can minimize the adverse effects of stress. It also considered being able to improve adaptability in new environments (Ham et al., 2014). Fomina et al. (2017) state that the character of each individual, such as in dealing with pressure is one of the personal resources in reducing perceived stress levels. The involvement of individuals in various activities, the ability to dealing with stress, and the ability to control complex situations also consider things that can reduce stress levels. When individuals cannot to deal with stress, such as the changes in culture, language, and also their job demands, then they tend to experience stress.
Some scholars have studied about training and stress using qualitative methods (Treven, 2003;Hurn, 2007;Xia, 2009;Setyowati et al., 2010;Ham et al., 2014;Shuttleworth, 2004). However, those studies focus on how to design a training program to minimize stress and explain how stress can affect people's psychology. Only a few studies discuss the training of migrant workers and how it affects stress at various levels of personal resources (Mayerl et al., 2017;Ayu et al., 2015). Moreover, those studies have not considered personal resources as a moderating variable that can reduce acculturative stress. Meanwhile, previous studies state that personal resources are one of the leading indicators that affect an individual's performance at work (Güler & Çetin, 2018;Kotze, 2018;Ayu et al., 2015;Xanthopoulou et al., 2007). Thus, this study fills in the gap by examining and analyzing the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress with personal resources as a moderating variable. This study also expects to be an input for the government in developing training for migrant workers by considering personal resources aspects.
Based on the research background, the research questions of this research are: First, how pre-departure training affects acculturative stress? Second, how personal resources moderate the effect of pre-departure training on acculturative stress of Indonesian migrant workers in Japan?

Methods
Respondents for this research were migrant workers who were participating in an internship program in Japan since 2017. The number of respondents studied was 215 and taken from four different training institutions. The total respondents consist of 139 people from the Indonesian Migrant Workers Training Center (BLKPMI), 48 people from Megumi Training Institution, 19 people from Mirai Nusantara Training Institution, and nine people from Putra Maju Training Institution.
Online questionnaires were distributed to the respondents asking their perception of pre-departure training, acculturative stress, and personal resources. Respondents give alternative answers based on a Likert scale (1 = "strongly disagree," and 5 = "strongly agree").
Pre-departure training was measured by using a list of statements purposed by Black & Mendenhall (1989) such as "I already understand how to communicate using the Japanese well" and "I feel that the work procedures applied during the training are by the work procedures in the company where I work." (Black & Mendenhall, 1989).
Moreover, respondents were asked a list of statements related to acculturative stress. The statements adopt from Ward et al. (2005), such as "I often feel anxious when I live in Japan.", "I always compare my native culture with culture in Japan.", and "I am always interested in learning Japanese culture." (Ward et al., 2005).
Personal resources were measured by adopting a list of the statement from Ayu et al. (2015). The statements were "I am confident in my ability to take the necessary actions.", "I have an essential role in my job.", and "I have confidence that my work can develop the potential that is within me." (Ayu et al., 2015).
This research used a quantitative research method. The statistical test conduct using Hierarchical Regression Analysis using Process Analysis purposed by Hayes (2013). The regression equation for this research is: Where: AS is acculturative stress; PDT is pre-departure training; PR is a personal resource; XM is the interaction between pre-departure training and personal resources.

Results and Discussion
Based on the results of the reliability test conducted on each variable in the questionnaire of this study, the Cronbach Alpha value obtained was greater than 0.60. The results show pre-departure training (r = 0.906), acculturative stress (r = 0.726), and personal resources (r = 0.897). Furthermore, in order to test the hypothesis, the statistical test is carried out to figure out the relationship of the independent variable toward the independent variable with a moderating variable.
The result in Table 1 shows that the p-values for each variable are lower than 0.05, which means that both the independent variable and moderating variable influence the independent variables. Furthermore, the R 2 shows that the value is 0.6044. It means that the influence on pre-departure training on acculturative stress with personal resources as a moderating variable is 60.44%.
The formula of the regression equation obtained on this research is: AS = 2.5903 -0.3265 PDT -0.2615 PR + 0.0891 XM + e It can concluded that the constant value obtained from the results of the analysis is equal to 2.5903. It means that if the pre-departure training and personal resources variables do not influence the acculturative stress variable, the amount of acculturative stress is worth 2.5903. Furthermore, the pre-departure training regression coefficient obtained is negative, which is equal to -0.3265. This negative value indicates that there is a unidirectional relationship between the pre-departure training and acculturative stress. It shows that every increase in pre-departure training applied by job training institutions is equal to one unit, and then it will reduce the acculturative stress level by 0.3265. It is in line with Treven (2003) and Black & Mendenhall (1989), who argue that one of the ways to minimize stress levels when working in a new environment is by giving training. The training should focus on crosscultural training; hence the migrant workers will be provided with skills, knowledge that is needed by the organization, and the level of stress will reduce.
Next, the regression coefficient of the moderating variable obtained is negative, which is equal to -0.2615. This negative value indicates that there is a unidirectional relationship between personal resources to acculturative stress. It shows that every increase in personal resources by one unit it will reduce the level of acculturative stress by 0.2615. It is in line with Ward et al. (2005), who argue that the sources of stress felt by an individual are the same. However, the levels of stress, and negative or positive that stress depends on the characteristic of the individuals. It is determined by how each views stress, how to cope with stress, individuals' flexibility towards different cultures, stress reaction, interpersonal abilities, and social abilities. The higher personal resources possessed by an individual, the lower the level of acculturative stress feels.
Last, the regression coefficient of the interaction variable between pre-departure training and personal resources obtained is positive, which is equal to 0.0891. This positive value indicates that this interaction variable is in the same direction or can be said to strengthen the pre-departure training relationship with acculturative stress. It shows that each increase in personal resources by one unit will increase or strengthen the level of influence of the predeparture training on acculturative stress of 0.0891. It is in line with Ham et al. (2014), who argue that stress level can be minimized by providing training in advance. It aims to give the migrant workers a picture and understanding, and do not feel confused when they work in a new environment with a different culture. It is also supported by personal resources, which http://journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/etikonomi DOI: htttp://dx.doi.org/10.15408/etk.v19i1.11884 36 can help individuals in controlling their emotion and their work environment (Güler & Çetin, 2018;Kotze, 2018).
Furthermore, to find out how the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress at different levels of personal resources can be concluded through the results of the process analysis, which shows in Table 2.  Table 2 illustrates the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress at each level of personal resources. The p-value of less than 0.01 indicates that there is a significant influence between pre-departure training and acculturative stress at different levels of personal resources. In other words, the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress can occur when the level of personal resources of the individual is at a low, normal, and even high level. It proves that even though the level of personal resources is high, individuals will still feel the stress. However, the impact of stress is not as severe as it is on the lower level of personal resources.
The level of perceived acculturative stress can be seen from the value of personal resources in Table 2. The value of -0.5731 shows a lower level of personal resources. Then in the second row shows a value of 0.0000, which indicates that the level of personal resources is considered normal, and the value of 0.5731 on the third line shows a higher level of personal resources.
It can be concluded that when personal resources are at a lower level (-0,5731), it will strengthen the influence of the pre-departure training on acculturative stress of -0.3775. When personal resources are at the normal level (0.0000), it will strengthen the influence of the pre-departure training on acculturative stress of -0.3265. Lastly, when personal resources are at a higher level (0.5731), it will strengthen the influence of the pre-departure training on acculturative stress by -0.2754.
For the interpretation of the moderating variable, if the higher the value of the moderating variable and its influence is more negative, then the moderating variable shows the effect that is not unidirectional or has the effect of weakening the effect of the dependent variable on the independent variable. Conversely, if the higher the value of the moderating variable and its influence is more positive, then the moderating variable shows unidirectional influence or gives an effect that strengthens the influence of the dependent variable on the independent variable.
The result shows that when the pre-departure training level is low, the level of acculturative stress is high, and vice versa. It indicates that pre-departure training is one of the main factors that can affect the acculturative stress level of migrant workers in Japan. When the pre-departure training carried out is not adequate (low), it will have an impact on employees' acculturative stress. This finding supports the statement that pre-departure training is an essential requirement for migrant workers before participating in an international assignment. As a result, the employees' level of acculturative stress can be minimized. Therefore, the predeparture training carried out must be following matters relating to the type of work that charges later and the selection of training methods that are suitable for the objectives of the apprenticeship program (Kinkawa et al., 2012;Zheng et al., 2007).
Furthermore, this study is in line with previous studies which shows that there is a comparison between individuals who have high, medium, and low levels of personal resources. The high or low levels and positive or negative stress depends on the characteristics of the individual. It is determined by how the individual views stress, copes with stress, the flexibility towards different cultures, stress reactions, interpersonal abilities, and social abilities (Ward et al., 2005;Luthans, 2010;Wong & Song, 2008).
Moreover, these findings are in line with the previous study that the higher the level of personal resources they have, the more negative is the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress. Individuals who have a high level of personal resources will have an impact on reducing stress levels. Otherwise, low personal resources tend to be more prone to stress (Güler & Çetin, 2018;Mastenbroek, 2017;Ham et al., 2014;Hayes & Weathington, 2007;Amatea & Fong, 1991). It can be concluded that if the pre-departure training is effective and then supported by a good or high level of personal resources, the level of acculturative stress will be lower. The better the personal resources of an individual, the better the individual is in managing himself towards acculturative stress (Mielniczuk & Laguna, 2017).

Conclusion
Based on the analysis, the result shows that there is a negative influence between predeparture training on acculturative stress. It shows that the more effective the pre-departure training carries out, the lower the level of the acculturative stress that feels. Furthermore, the result also shows that there is a positive influence between the pre-departure training on acculturative stress moderated by personal resources. It shows that personal resources strengthen the influence of pre-departure training on acculturative stress. The higher the personal resources owned by migrant workers, the stronger the influence of the pre-departure training on acculturative stress. These findings support the statement that personal resources are one of the leading indicators that affect an individual's performance at work.
However, this study has not discovered other variables that can be related to these variables, for instance, work engagement and job demand. The researchers also suggest conducting research related to the comparison of the acculturative stress level that is felt by female and male migrant workers since the level of acculturative stress between men and women are different. Therefore, future researches suggest expanding the subject of research.


ON COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE FEATURES OF SOCIAL SPHERE SPECIALISTS

Purpose of the study: To study the ways to increase the communicative competence of social sphere specialists, aimed at the formation of professional and personal qualities, communicative skills, and development of professional interest and success. Methodology: Some theoretical and empirical research methods are used: analysis of publications in social work, normative documentation on the research issue; diagnostic methods: questioning, testing, interviews; experimental methods: ascertaining, forming, and control stages of the experiment; stating, forming and control stages of the experiment; methods of statistical processing of research results. Main Findings: The main results of the study showed that the modern practice of successful organization of social service activities requires a thoughtful approach. The head, together with the full-time psychologist, should monitor the communicative competence of the specialists working at this service and timely organize the work to overcome the manifestations of professional burnout of specialists and prevent their professional deformation. The significance of the influence of active teaching methods on interpersonal communication has allowed us to develop and test several practically effective teaching methods that increase the effectiveness of interaction with others in professional communication. Applications of this study: This study reveals the possibilities of improving the communicative competence of the specialists working at social service departments in modern conditions of systematic emotional overload when performing their professional duties. This theme is quite relevant for the activities of any service within “person to person” interaction, especially a social one, having its specifics and directed at helping a person facing a social problem. Novelty/Originality of this study: The novelty of this study is in justifying the need for organizing activities to improve the communicative competence of social service specialists using modern socio-psychological developments. In the modern practice of holding social work, this component is often overlooked, which subsequently leads to frequent conflicts among social service employees and recipients of social services, a gradual loss of interest in the work performed, and, as a result, its indifferent fulfilment.

INTRODUCTION
One of the main components of the professional competence of a social work specialist is his/her success in professional and personal communication. As a rule, clients of social workers are citizens who are in an unstable social situation. As a result, they are not always emotionally balanced and are unlikely to maintain and establish positive social contacts.
The specifics of social work, according to E. I. Kholostovoy and L. I. Kononova (2019), consists in the fact that "when solving the problems that people are facing doing it, it directly or indirectly affects all forms and types of social relations and people's activities, all aspects of social life. The identification and solution of these problems are carried out, first of all, by establishing and maintaining contacts with the representatives of state services, public organizations and associations, citizens and social groups (clients) who need help, protection, support, which requires, in turn, high development social workers' communicative abilities" (p. 43).
Therefore, the specialist assumes both the emotional burden and responsibility for building positive social contacts with the client himself/herself and his/her closest people. This style of behavior inevitably leads to emotional burnout and the professional deformation of specialists.
The study of the communicative competence features of social specialists is an essential aim of organizing their successful social communication. In the modern practice of socio-psychological training for the formation of professional competence of specialists in the social sphere, the developments of Russian psychologists should be actively used. G. P. Medvedeva (2018), in her textbook "Philosophy of Social Work", showed that "a person is the main element of social work, its object, and subject, goal, and result. At the same time, human studies in various scientific disciplines of social work are limited only to the study of man as an object and subject in the system of professional social work. The fact that a person is simultaneously a member of the society, various groups and communities are practically not taken into account, just as the role of a person who does not take part in the professional social work is not taken into account" (p. 88).
Z. P. Zamaraeva and L. I. Starovojtova (2019) noted that "in the process of forming professional competence, sociallyoriented professional subjectivity is of great importance. Its content and technological support imply, on the one hand, targeted professional activity with social protection facilities that have different levels of resource potentials (low, medium, high) to restore lost, partially lost or not acquired during socialization skills and abilities to perform social functions and roles in the modern society, on the other hand, the updating of special knowledge and skills to conduct a level assessment of resource potentials and the selection of adequate resource technologies, the formation of the necessary conditions for their implementation". K. D. Zanina and A. G. Akhtyan (2018) emphasizes that the modern world is in continuous innovative development, covering all spheres of society, including socio-cultural. The study of personality typology in this context is becoming increasingly relevant in connection with the ability to predict the formation of innovative thinking. Every modern person every day repeatedly interacts with both individuals and groups of people, inevitably encountering various types of human character and behavior. There is a noticeable jump in the interest to the problems of social interactions considered in the field of personality typology and peculiarities of social work (van den Heuvel et al., 1989; Firsov&Studenova, 2016; Santos et al., 2020; Straussner&Senreich, 2020).
The analysis of scientific literature showed that the study of the communicative competence features of specialists in the social sphere is an essential and actively researched area of modern science.
• Psychological department that provides advisory and educational assistance to the citizens of different ages and social status as well as correctional and developmental work with children having developmental disabilities; • Correctional department, carrying out correctional and rehabilitation work with various categories of citizens; • Medical department that implements medical support for the educational, correctional, and rehabilitation work of the center.
Each of the departments took part in the study.
At the first stage, psychological testing was conducted to identify employees who were dissatisfied with their relationships with people and experienced particular difficulties in communication.
In the second stage, based on the test results, a group of employees experiencing communicative difficulties in their professional activities was selected to participate in the social and psychological training (SPT).
In the third stage, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the SPT program was carried out.
The article aims to study the ways to increase the communicative competence of social specialists, aimed at the formation of professional and personal qualities, communication skills of the specialist, development of the interest in the chosen profession, and success in professional activity. This study reveals the possibilities for improving the communicative competence of social service specialists in modern conditions of systematic emotional overload within the performance of their professional duties. Timely organization of diagnostics and correction of the emotional and mental mood of specialists gives a positive result, increases the success in fulfilling professional tasks, and brings satisfaction from work performed.
The following research tasks were identified: • To analyze theoretical approaches to the study of communicativeness as a professionally significant quality of a social worker; • To find out the essence of social work as a professional activity; • To study socio-psychological characteristics of the social worker personality; • To explore socio-psychological features of the communicative activities of social workers; • To develop a program of social and psychological training (SPT) on improving the communicative activity of social workers allowing to improve the quality of social services for citizens; • To analyze the results obtained after the SPT.
To solve the assigned tasks, several theoretical and empirical research methods were used: • Analysis of philosophical, psychological, pedagogical, acmeological, sociological, methodical literature, some publications in social work, normative documentation on the research issue; • Diagnostic methods: questioning, testing, interviews; • Experimental methods: ascertaining, forming, and control stages of the experiment; • Stating, forming and control stages of the experiment; • Methods of statistical processing of research results.

Research base
Communicative competence is one of the fundamental characteristics of professional competence and professional training of specialists in social work. The difficult current socio-economic situation in the country, the specifics of the Russian system of social protection, and remuneration, the desire of service recipients to quickly and effectively solve their problems results in the increasing emotional burden on the social specialist. In this regard, one of the main tasks of the heads of social services is to monitor the socio-psychological state of their employees. Thus, regular, systematic work on the protection of the socio-psychological state of the employees guarantees a successful professional solution of all the production tasks of this service.
In this regard, the experience of studying the ways to improve the professional competence of employees at the "Center for Medical and Sociological Research" in Saratov in November 2018 is of great interest. It should be noted that the staff includes 30 people, 26 of who are women, and 4 are men aged 32-51 years. All employees, except for the head of the center and security and accounting personnel, were involved in the study. To study socio-psychological characteristics of the communicative activities of social workers, as well as the ways to improve its quality, the "Center for Medical and Sociological Research" conducted the research focused on the socio-psychological characteristics of the communicative activities of workers in their center.

Research progress and its methods
At the first stage, psychological testing was conducted to identify employees who were dissatisfied with their relationships with people and experiencing particular difficulties in communication. For these purposes, the following methods were used: 1) Standardized self-report on the features of interpersonal communication by I.E. Strelkova (1967). The self-report contains 16 questions. The technique reveals the following parameters of interpersonal communication: • Satisfaction -dissatisfaction with one's relationship with others; • With what categories of persons and to what extent this satisfaction is manifested; • Presence of difficulties of a procedural and dynamic nature in the process of communication; • Correspondence of existing relations with people in relation to others; • Ability to effectively build relationships with other people; • Attitude from others according to the criterion of understandingmisunderstanding; • Confidence -uncertainty in relationships with people; • Subjective assessment of the causes of difficulties in communication (in oneself -in a partner).
According to the results of this technique, it becomes possible to identify the qualitative characteristics of the communicative and organizational inclinations of the testees. Communicative and organizational abilities in the professions that in their content are associated with the active interaction of a person with other people act as pivotal, as their lack cannot ensure success in work. The main content of the workers` activities in such professions is associated with team leadership, training, education as well as cultural, educational, and consumer services.
3) The study of the level of empathic tendencies (Egorychev et al., 2019).
A popular methodology for studying the level of empathic tendencies developed by Kazan psychologist I. M. Yusupov was used to study such a personal quality as empathy understood as an ability to voluntary emotional responsiveness to the experiences of other people, a skill to put oneself in the place of another person (described in Sidorenko, 2008).
Empathy makes human behavior socially determined, contributing to the balance of interpersonal relationships. The ability of a person to empathy is a crucial factor for success in those activities that require living in the world of the communication partner. This is especially important when it comes to social work. This technique allows determining the level of empathy development (very high, high, normal, low, and very low).
In the second stage, based on the test results, a group of employees experiencing communicative difficulties in their professional activities was selected to participate in the SPT training.
In the third stage, the evaluation of the SPT program's effectiveness was carried out.

Analysis and interpretation of research results
The first stage of our research was to diagnose the level of development of empathic trends among the center employees (see Table 1). From Table 1, it can be seen that no employee has a very high and very low level of empathy that is why, in our sample, there are only three levels: high, normal, and low. Moreover, 63% of employees have a normal (average) level of empathy. The distribution of employees by the level of empathy development is presented below in Figure 1. Thus, we can interpret that the employees of the center try to show attention and delicacy in interpersonal relations; they tend to judge others by their actions, emotional manifestations are mostly under control.
The diagnostic results obtained by the communicative and organizational inclinations (COI) method are presented in Table 2. As can be seen from the presented results, the majority of employees have a relatively high level of communication skills, but only 6 people have organizational skills. The data obtained in the framework of the study clearly show the work capacity of this team. With competent management and rational distribution of labor duties, he is ready to successfully solve the tasks as it is evidenced in Figure 2. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews eISSN: 2395-6518, Vol 8, No 4, 2020, pp 182-191 https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8419 the duties. Therefore, a skillful combination of activity and sociability of some people with patience and inner composure, aimed at the gradual implementation of the instructions of others, brings success in the teamwork.
The next stage of the study is aimed at studying the parameters of interpersonal communication. Let us turn to the results obtained by the standardized self-report on the features of interpersonal communication. The results are presented in Table 3.  • Development of the focus on socio-psychological activity; • Correction and formation of some socio-psychological communicative skills; • Development of participants' ability to empathy; • Increasing sensitivity to non-verbal forms of contact, decoding non-verbal ways of communicating with people.
As evidenced by the data of diagnostic procedures carried out after the end of the training, and the data of self-reports characterizing the changes in the self-attitude of the subjects, the level of awareness of their problems in the process of interaction with others, mastery of some tactics of behavior, communication training organized according to the developed program, gave a positive result.

CONCLUSION
Summing up the work done, it is necessary to note the identification of the problems associated with the communicative competence of service employees, which is an integral component of social activities. The primary vector of successful work of social services is to carry out preventive work to establish communication links within the team and to smooth out the consequences of communication with the recipients of social services through training courses aimed at improving the culture of mutual interaction.
In the framework of this work, trainings conducted according to the intended program gave the psychological and practical influence on the personality of people and their actual behavior. The main effect of the impact was expressed in