Consumer evaluation of complaint handling in the Dutch health insurance market

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>How companies deal with complaints is a particularly challenging aspect in managing the quality of their service. In this study we test the direct and relative effects of service quality dimensions on consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in a company in the Dutch health insurance market.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey design was used. Survey data of 150 members of a Dutch insurance panel who lodged a complaint at their healthcare insurer within the past 12 months were surveyed. The data were collected using a questionnaire containing validated multi-item measures. These measures assess the service quality dimensions consisting of functional quality and technical quality and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations consisting of complaint satisfaction and overall satisfaction with the company after complaint handling. Respondents' trust in a company after complaint handling was also measured. Using factor analysis, reliability and validity of the measures were assessed. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between these variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, results confirm the hypothesized direct and relative effects between the service quality dimensions and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in the company. No support was found for the effect of technical quality on overall satisfaction with the company. This outcome might be driven by the context of our study; namely, consumers get in touch with a company to resolve a specific problem and therefore might focus more on complaint satisfaction and less on overall satisfaction with the company.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, the model we present is valid in the context of the Dutch health insurance market. Management is able to increase consumers' complaint satisfaction, overall satisfaction with the company, and trust in the company by improving elements of functional and technical quality. Furthermore, we show that functional and technical quality do not influence consumer satisfaction evaluations and trust in the company to the same extent. Therefore, it is important for managers to be aware of the type of consumer satisfaction they are measuring when evaluating the handling of complaints within their company.</p

Burnout Syndrome and alcohol consumption in prison employees

Objective: The aims of this study were to estimate the association between an at-risk drinking pattern and sociodemographic variables, and to compare the mean scores of the factors associated with the Burnout Syndrome, according to the alcohol consumption pattern in staff members from two Brazilian prisons. Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed with 339 participants (response rate = 63.8%). The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS). Results: The participants’ average age was 40.2 (SD = 8.8) years, and 81.0% were male. Among 78.5% of participants (95%CI 74.1 – 82.8) reported consuming alcoholic beverages. The prevalence of at-risk drinking behavior in the sample was 22.4% (95%CI 18.0 – 26.9), and of the Burnout Syndrome was 14.6% (95%CI 10.8 – 18.4). We observed a significant association between at-risk drinking behavior with gender, higher risk for men (OR = 7.32, p < 0.001), smoking, increased risk for smokers (OR = 2.77, p < 0.001), and religious practice, showing lower risks for religion practitioners (OR = 0.364, p < 0.001). We noticed significantly higher mean scores (p < 0.001) of emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and lower scores of professional achievement among individuals who reported consuming alcoholic beverages. Conclusion: Men who smoke were more likely to develop an at-risk drinking pattern, while religion is presented as a protective factor. Individuals who consume alcohol were more affected by the different factors of the Burnout Syndrome

Liability of country foreignness and liability of regional foreignness: their effects on geographic diversification and firm performance

The costs of inter- and intra-regional diversification have been widely discussed in the existing international business literature, but the findings are mixed. Explanations for the mixed findings have important managerial implications, because business managers have to estimate accurately the costs of doing business within and across regions before they make their internationalization decisions. To explain the existing mixed findings, this study differentiates between liabilities of foreignness at the country and regional levels, and explores the joint effects of liability of country foreignness (LCF) and liability of regional foreignness (LRF) on the performance of internationalizing firms. Using data from 167 Canadian firms, we find that LCF may not necessarily be negatively correlated with intra-regional diversification, but LRF is positively correlated with inter-regional diversification. LCF moderates the relationship between LRF and inter-regional diversification, and also mediates the relationship between intra-regional diversification and firm performance. LRF mediates the relationship between inter-regional diversification and firm performance. Missing one or more of these variables may result in different cost estimates. Identification of the relationships between these variables helps to improve the accuracy of estimating the costs of doing business aboard