The impact of the governance of health insurance companies on patient satisfaction with hospitals in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this research study is to investigate the impact of corporate-governance-related practices on the effectiveness of health insurance companies, and in turn, their impact upon the performance of hospitals as measured by patients’ satisfaction in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. The conceptual framework and hypotheses of the study have been developed using a modified version of the Common Measurement Tool (CMT) and stakeholder theory. In order to investigate these issues, primary data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews and 414 structured questionnaires. The findings from the interviews suggest that the level of compliance with corporate governance principles varies among the selected health insurance companies. A high degree of compliance was found in health insurance companies A and B, a moderate level of compliance in health insurance companies C and a comparatively low level in health insurance companies D and E. The findings from the questionnaire survey indicates that patients in hospital A and B were more satisfied than the patients in hospital E. Health insurance company A’s clients were highly satisfied with hospital A and health insurance companies E’s, D’s and E’s clients were least satisfied with hospitals D and E. This research study contributes to the corporate governance and customer satisfaction literature. Finally, recommendations and suggestions for future research were made