Ascertaining service quality and medical practitioners' sensitivity towards surgical instruments using SERVQUAL

Drivers of Patients' Behavioral Intention toward Public and Private Clinics' Services

In an era of growing competition in the healthcare market, adopting a patient-centered approach is mandatory for the survival and growth of any public or private hospital. This requires a better understanding of patients' behavior and an increased focus on satisfying their needs and expectations. This paper was developed in this context and aims to study the main drivers of patients' behavioral intentions. A conceptual model was proposed, highlighting the linkages between service quality, doctors' reputation, patients' trust, service value, and patients' behavioral intentions. To examine the different research hypotheses, a quantitative study including 242 patients was conducted in Saudi Arabia using the convenience sampling method. The smart PLS approach was used to test the measurement and structural models. The findings indicated that trust and service value positively affected patients' behavioral intentions. Trust in the healthcare provider was positively affected by two dimensions of service quality: healthcare provider concern and physician concern. Trust in doctors was found to be positively related to the reputation of the doctor. Service value was positively influenced by the convenience of the healthcare process, healthcare provider concerns, and doctors' reputations. This study is original because it is among the few studies that investigate patients' behavioral intentions toward healthcare services in a developing country (Saudi Arabia). Furthermore, it is among the rare studies to examine the role of doctors' reputations in service values. The findings would offer meaningful implications for practitioners in the healthcare market for maintaining relationships with their patients.

Evaluation of passengers' expectations and satisfaction in the airline industry: an empirical performance analysis of online reviews

Purpose

Variations in customer expectations pose a challenge to service quality improvement in the airline industry. Understanding airline customers' expectations and satisfaction help service providers improve their offerings. The extant literature examines airline passengers' expectations in isolation, neglecting the overall impact of online reviews on service quality improvement. This paper systematically evaluates the airline industry's passengers' expectations and satisfaction using expectation confirmation theory (ECT) and the SERVQUAL framework. The paper analyzes online reviews to examine the relationship between airline service quality attributes and passengers' satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The SERVQUAL framework was employed to examine the effects of customer culture, the reason for traveling, and seat type on customer's expectations and satisfaction across a large sample of airline customers.

Findings

A total of 17,726 observations were gathered from the Skytrax review website. The lowest satisfaction ratings were from passengers from the USA, Canada and India. Factors that affect perceived service performance include customer service, delays and baggage management. Empathy and reliability have the biggest impact on the perceived satisfaction of passengers.

Research limitations/implications

This research increases understanding of the consumer expectations through analysis of passengers' online reviews. Results are limited to a small sample of airline industries.

Practical implications

This study provides airlines with valuable information to improve customer service by analyzing online reviews.

Social implications

This study provides the opportunity for airline customers to gain better services when airline companies utilize the findings.

Originality/value

This paper offers insights into passengers' expectations and their perceived value for money in relation to seat types. Previous studies have not investigated value for money as a construct for passengers' expectations and satisfaction relative to service quality dimensions. This paper addresses this need.

The Impact of Collaborative Communication on the Physical Distribution Service Quality of Soft Drinks: A Case Study of Beverage Manufacturing Companies in Greece

This research aimed to use the collaborative communication aspects of information sharing, incentive alignment, and decision synchronization to explain physical distribution service quality in the soft drink demand chain. The research was prompted by a desire to learn more about a topic that has received little attention in Greece while also contributing information about the variables that influence the performance of soft drink distribution networks. Manufacturers in Greece provided the data. The aspects of collaborative communication were significant determinants of the physical distribution service quality. Physical distribution service quality was shown to be significantly predicted by incentive alignment and information sharing, but not by decision synchronization. This research shows that collaborative communication aspects such as information sharing, decision synchronization, and incentive alignment enhance physical distribution service quality in soft drink demand chains. The research used a primary sample of 200 study participants from different drink manufacturing plants around Greece. In our research, we focused on vertical cooperation between manufacturers and distributors and its effect on physical distribution service quality. This is a relatively unexplored topic in the developing world. According to the scholars cited in the literature review, information exchange, incentive alignment, and decision synchronization improve physical distribution service quality in demand chains.