Hussein M. Al‐Borie and Amal M. Sheikh Damanhouri
Saudi Arabian hospital performance, vis‐à‐vis patient satisfaction with service provision, has emerged as a key policy and planning concern. Keeping in view public and private…
Abstract
Purpose
Saudi Arabian hospital performance, vis‐à‐vis patient satisfaction with service provision, has emerged as a key policy and planning concern. Keeping in view public and private hospital service quality, this article seeks to provide guidelines to the on‐going Saudi Arabian health service reorganization, which emphasizes decentralization, bed‐capacity expansion, research‐based policymaking and initiatives in the health insurance sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The article outlines an empirical study that compares patient satisfaction with service quality in Saudi Arabian public and private sector hospitals. The authors employ a stratified random sample (1,000 inpatients) from five Saudi Arabian public and five private hospitals. Data were collected through questionnaire using the SERVQUAL scale. For reducing the language bias the questionnaire was translated into Arabic. The response rate was 74.9 percent. Data were analyzed using SPSS and appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques.
Findings
Cronbach's alpha for five service‐quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, safety and empathy) were high and the SERVQUAL instrument proved to be reliable, valid and appropriate. The results showed that sex, education, income and occupation were statistically significant in influencing inpatients' satisfaction, and all the null hypotheses were rejected. Only inpatient age was not significant.
Practical implications
The study highlights service quality influence in the design of broader healthcare strategies for Saudi Arabian public and private hospitals. It demands that management researchers and analysts must identify regional service quality consistencies and related inpatient demographic indicators.
Originality/value
The study offers some insights into, and guidance for, hospital quality assurance in Saudi Arabia in general and the urban hospital setting in the Middle‐East in particular.
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Hussein Mohammed Al‐Borie and Muhammad Tanweer Abdullah
In recent years, effective leadership initiatives have been emphasized in the healthcare industry all over the world. This paper aims to examine contemporary healthcare…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, effective leadership initiatives have been emphasized in the healthcare industry all over the world. This paper aims to examine contemporary healthcare development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and prescribe four essential policy dimensions to its leadership, depicting the imperative needs for direction, integration, revision, and evidence – the “DIRE needs” approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews literature on the contemporary KSA health system and provides guidelines for policy reforms vis‐à‐vis the emerging challenges.
Findings
First, the paper offers a conceptual model to examine the ongoing and future health policy development of the KSA. It identifies four key policy dimensions – direction, integration, revision, and evidence and links these to the scope of broader health sector reforms. Second, it characterizes these dimensions as key initiatives for health resource capacity and infrastructural development, essentially the primary health care, which need to be taken up by KSA mainstream health services leadership. Third, it underlines the importance of integrating institutional research and information systems for evidence‐based policy‐making and practicable implementation. Fourth, it offers a social science research perspective to the need for multi‐dimensional health policy reforms in the KSA.
Research limitations/implications
This paper opens up KSA health leadership initiatives that may be viewed as the DIRE needs, to be mainstreamed in the domains of policy and strategic planning, research and development, and healthcare management practices.
Originality/value
Social research in KSA health policy and planning is rare. This paper introduces a context‐specific multi‐dimensional model that provides critical insights into challenges and complexities that the Saudi health leadership must attend to. It defines a set of four essential benchmarking dimensions for guiding future policy reforms.
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Ahmad Ameryoun, Seyedvahid Najafi, Bayram Nejati-Zarnaqi, Seyed Omid Khalilifar, Mahdi Ajam and Ahmad Ansarimoghadam
The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic approach to predict service quality dimension’s influence on service quality using a novel analysis based on data envelopment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic approach to predict service quality dimension’s influence on service quality using a novel analysis based on data envelopment and SERVQUAL.
Design/methodology/approach
To assess hospital service quality in Tehran, expectation and perception of those who received the services were evaluated using SERVQUAL. The hospital service quality dimensions were found by exploratory factor analysis (EFA). To compare customer expectation and perception, perceived service quality index (PSQI) was measured using a new method based on common weights. A novel sensitivity approach was used to test the service quality factor’s impact on the PSQI.
Findings
A new service quality dimension named “trust in services” was found using EFA, which is not an original SERVQUAL factor. The approach was applied to assess the hospital’s service quality. Since the PSQI value was 0.76 it showed that improvements are needed to meet customer expectations. The results showed the factor order that affect PSQI. “Trust in services” has the strongest influence on PSQI followed by “tangibles,” “assurance,” “empathy,” and “responsiveness,” respectively.
Practical implications
This work gives managers insight into service quality by following a systematic method; i.e., measuring perceived service quality from the customer viewpoint and service factors’ impact on customer perception.
Originality/value
The procedure helps managers to select the required service quality dimensions which need improvement and predict their effects on customer perception.
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Eddy Balemba Kanyurhi and Déogratias Bugandwa Mungu Akonkwa
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, testing the relationships between internal marketing and employee satisfaction; second, investigating the links between employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, testing the relationships between internal marketing and employee satisfaction; second, investigating the links between employee satisfaction and perceived organizational performance; and finally, testing the relationship between internal marketing and perceived organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 419 employees working in 53 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Kivu (DR Congo). Data processing was performed using structural equations modeling through LISREL 9.1.
Findings
The results revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between internal marketing and employee satisfaction. The results also revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between internal marketing and perceived organizational performance. However, no significant relationship between employee satisfaction and perceived organizational performance was identified.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need to conduct a large qualitative survey aiming to understand why MFIs apply internal marketing and marketing practices in general. The results from such a study would serve to prepare a global quantitative study, which integrates in the same model internal marketing, external market orientation, employee job satisfaction (EJS), and organizational performance.
Practical implications
Results invite MFIs managers to change their mind and focus more on their employees. In fact, employees generate the most cost in general but they can also contribute to sustain growth and profitability. This is possible if they are better rewarded for their efforts.
Originality/value
This study links internal marketing, EJS and perceived performance in a sector and country which have been less or not studied in the marketing sector.