Creating value for patients through service encounter experiences: evidence from Turkey

Purpose The study aims to guide private healthcare organizations to create value for patients through service encounters (SE) based on the value-in-use notion. It also intends to reveal whether SE experiences differ from reputation levels of hospitals. Design/methodology/approach Research embraces mixed methods for building theoretical construction and sampling, seven hospital managers and two private hospitals were interviewed and selected via analytical hierarchical process. A number of 1,023 valid data were obtained from patients through survey. Structural equation modeling, PROCESS macro and multigroup analysis were used to test for research model. Findings Call center experience among pre-core SE affected patient satisfaction positively and behavioral intention indirectly; however, online and social experiences did not. As core SE, physician and nursing interaction, trust, accessibility and perceived sufficient waiting positively influenced patient satisfaction and behavioral intention, though physical evidence and supportive staff interaction did not. In the post-core stage, patient satisfaction positively impacts behavioral intention. Additionally, those effects were equivalent for high and low reputations. Originality/value Study uniquely attempts to shift the paradigm from value-in-exchange to value-in-use in private healthcare context by embracing SE approach. Research differs from others by revealing the remarkable role of intangible assets instead of tangibles on holistic patient experience, essential for creating and managing value for patients