Service quality of private hospitals: The Iranian Patients' perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Highly competitive market in the private hospital industry has caused increasing pressure on them to provide services with higher quality. The aim of this study was to determine the different dimensions of the service quality in the private hospitals of Iran and evaluating the service quality from the patients' perspective.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted between October and November 2010 in Tehran, Iran. The study sample was composed of 983 patients randomly selected from 8 private general hospitals. The study questionnaire was the SERVQUAL questionnaire, consisting of 21 items in service quality dimensions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The result of factor analysis revealed 3 factors, explaining 69% of the total variance. The total mean score of patients' expectation and perception was 4.91(SD = 0.2) and 4.02(SD = 0.6), respectively. The highest expectation and perception related to the tangibles dimension and the lowest expectation and perception related to the empathy dimension. The differences between perception and expectation were significant (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference between the expectations scores based on gender, education level, and previous hospitalization in that same hospital. Also, there was a significant difference between the perception scores based on insurance coverage, average length of stay, and patients' health conditions on discharge.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results showed that SERVQUAL is a valid, reliable, and flexible instrument to monitor and measure the quality of the services in private hospitals of Iran. Our findings clarified the importance of creating a strong relationship between patients and the hospital practitioners/personnel and the need for hospital staff to be responsive, credible, and empathetic when dealing with patients.</p

Determinants of consumers’ intentions to share knowledge and intentions to purchase on s-commerce sites: incorporating attitudes toward persuasion attempts into a social exchange model

This research explores s-commerce users’ intentions to purchase and to share knowledge by incorporating ‘attitudes toward persuasion attempts,’ ‘ease of use,’ and ‘perceived usefulness’ into a social exchange theory model. A survey using an on-site purposive sampling technique was used to recruit the respondents, and an interception technique was used to approach the consumers. A total of 471 Korean consumers participated in this research. Based on 471 Korean social-commerce users, our results reveal that social exchange belief factors and a site’s usability affect user satisfaction, which subsequently affects users’ intentions to purchase and to share knowledge. In addition, attitudes toward persuasion attempts moderate the effect of satisfaction on users’ purchase intentions. Keywords: social exchange theory, attitudes toward persuasion attempts, intention to share knowledge, social exchange belief

On the Importance of Complaint Handling Design : A Multi-Level Analysis of the Impact in Specific Complaint Situations

Given the large investments required for high-quality complaint handling design, managers need practical guidance in understanding its actual importance for their particular company. However, while prior research emphasizes the general relevance of complaint handling design, it fails to provide a more differentiated perspective on this interesting issue. This study, which is based on an integrative multi-level framework and a dyadic dataset, addresses this important gap in research. Results indicate that the impact of a company’s complaint handling design varies significantly depending on the characteristics of the complaining customers with which the firm has to deal. Further, this paper shows that, contingent on these characteristics, a company’s complaint handling design can shape complainants’ fairness perceptions either considerably or only slightly. Overall, findings suggest that companies should apply an adaptive approach to complaint handling to avoid misallocation of attention, energy, and resources

Trust in preparation of University-Industry (UI)-Collaboration : Outcomes from a course with focus on developing businesslike capabilities

This paper presents outcomes from a course with focus on developing businesslike capabilities among undergraduate students. The purpose is to explore the need of trust in preparations of UI-collaboration and how outcomes are influencing trust in an education context. Findings indicate that word of mouth is essential to create needed trust. The amount of human resources students represent is found to be an important “qualifier”, while created trust is the “order winner” in the establishment of UI-collaboration.Godkänd; 2015; 20150116 (andbra

Matching tourism type and destination image perceptions in a country context

Recent upheavals caused in a largely globalized macroeconomic environment have affected places and countries that previously seemed immune to challenge. Country image perceptions are gradually reconsidered while the post-recession status is in a dynamic formulation. Cities, regions and countries strive in order to market themselves professionally in the international arena (van Ham, 2001) and achieve higher levels of market orientation, possibly reinforced by factors such as market turbulence and competition intensity (Denis, Czellar and Graber, 2001). Tourism plays a crucial role in the field of country image since “it allows personal interaction with locals and the host country culture” (Dinnie, 2011, p.80). International tourism market comprises of a variety of destinations offering alternative selling propositions to a proliferation of tourism segments. A single country may provide several tourism products (i.e. distinct forms of tourism) and may be “multibought” by different groups at the same time; hence, “it must be ‘multisold’, or sold as a product to these segments based on their need” (Mossberg and Kleppe, 2005, p.9). The question raised relates to the possible effect of country image on the various tourism forms in the destination portfolio

Does Service Quality Perception in Omnichannel Retailing Matter? A Systematic Review and Agenda for Future Research

The retailing landscape has been transformed in the past decade with the emergence of web, mobile and social media. Multichannel retailers are focusing on establishing seamless omnichannel service experience. Omnichannel retailing is not only addition of channels, rather integration of service elements, price, promotion, product assortment, information and transactional data within all available channels of a company. Within omnichannel retailing, the concept of brand experience is highly specific as it includes interactive channels such as social media and review sites. To complete even a single purchase, customers nowadays are using multiple channels. Customers are trying out products in a physical store but at the same time ordering it online using smartphones after comparing price and checking reviews. Remember the customer who did not complete her purchase in store? She may have ordered similar product using other channels offered by competitors. To create a successful omnichannel strategy, companies need to integrate all the channels and customer touchpoints to provide a consistent experience. Whereas multi-channel has focused on enhancing customer value incorporating digital tools, omnichannel has introduced a wider perspective in influencing consumer decision making. With the emergence of omnichannel and related complexities, this study calls for a broader conceptualization of virtual, physical and integration quality. The study also puts forward challenges and future research directions for quality modelling in omnichannel research