What is it about?
This paper develops and empirically tests a model to examine service quality, satisfaction, trust and commitment as loyalty antecedents in a private healthcare service. The model developed was tested using structural equation modelling, involving 175 patients from a private Portuguese healthcare unit, using a revised Service Quality Assessment Scale (SQAS) scale for service quality evaluation.
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Why is it important?
The scale used to evaluate service quality is valid and meaningful. Service quality proved to be a multidimensional construct and relevant to build satisfaction. The path satisfaction→trust→loyalty was validated, whereas the path satisfaction→commitment→loyalty was not statistically supported. This study explores using the SQAS scale in a private healthcare context. The authors provide further evidence that service quality is an antecedent and different from satisfaction. All the measures used proved to be valid and reliable. Trust and commitment play different roles in their relationship with loyalty.
Perspectives
Taking into account the difficulties of private healthcare units in competing with public ones, it is clear that healthcare quality managers must explore the service quality dimensions to generate satisfaction among their patients. Developing trust generates positive patient attitudes and loyalty.
Antonio Carrizo Moreira
University of Aveiro
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The trust-commitment challenge in service quality-loyalty relationships, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, April 2015, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/ijhcqa-02-2014-0017.
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