This study investigates the key antecedents and mechanisms that influence customer identification in healthcare contexts, based on two studies from different stakeholders: healthcare workers and patients (customers) of healthcare organisations. The first study (N = 788) explored a positive relationship between a hospital's service tangibility and service reliability. The second (N = 657) affirmed and expanded this finding, and revealed that the service reliability of a hospital was positively related to customer identification with the hospital. This service reliability further mediated the positive relationship between service tangibility and customer identification. Our results highlight the role of service tangibility and reliability in enhancing customer identification in healthcare contexts. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AhearneM., BhattacharyaC.B., & GruenT. (2005) Antecedents and consequences of customer–company identification: expanding the role of relationship marketing.Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 3, pp. 574–585.
2.
AndersonJ.C., & GerbingD.W. (1988) Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach.Psychological Bulletin, 103, 3, pp. 411–423.
3.
AshforthE., & MaelF. (1989) Social identity theory and the organization.Academy of Management Journal, 14, 1, pp. 20–39.
4.
BaronR.M., & KennyD.A. (1986) The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 6, pp. 1173–1182.
5.
BhattacharyaC.B., & SenS. (2003) Consumer–company identification: a framework for understanding consumers' relationships with companies.Journal of Marketing, 67, 2, pp. 76–88.
6.
BrislinR.W. (1980) Translation and content analysis of oral and written material.Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2, 2, pp. 349–444.
7.
ChangW.K., WeiC.C., & HuangN.T. (2006) An approach to maximize hospital service quality under budget constraints.Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 17, 6, pp. 757–774.
8.
CooksonR., McCabeC., & TsuchiyaA. (2008) Public healthcare resource allocation and the Rule of Rescue.Journal of Medical Ethics, 34, 7, pp. 540–544.
9.
CooperD., & ThatcherS.M.B. (2010) Identification in organizations: the role of self-concept orientations and identification motives.Academy of Management Review, 35, 4, pp. 516–538.
10.
EdwardsM.R., & EdwardsT. (2012) Procedural justice and identification with the acquirer: the moderating effects of job continuity, organisational identity strength and organisational similarity.Human Resource Management Journal, 22, 2, pp. 109–128.
11.
EichlerH.G., KongS.X., GerthW.C., MavrosP., & JönssonB. (2004) Use of cost-effectiveness analysis in health-care resource allocation decision-making: how are cost-effectiveness thresholds expected to emerge?Value in Health, 7, 5, pp. 518–528.
12.
FarhJ.-L., CannellaA.A., & LeeC. (2006) Approaches to scale development in Chinese management research.Management and Organization Review, 2, 3, pp. 301–318.
13.
FattiG., GrimwoodA., & BockP. (2010) Better antiretroviral therapy outcomes at primary healthcare facilities: an evaluation of three tiers of ART services in four South African provinces.PLoS One, 5, 9, e12888.
14.
FengJ., ZhangY., LiuX., ZhangL., & HanX. (in press) Just the right amount of ethics inspires creativity: a cross-level investigation of ethical leadership, intrinsic motivation, and employee creativity.Journal of Business Ethics, forthcoming, pp. 1–14.
15.
FitzpatrickR., & HopkinsA. (2008) Problems in the conceptual framework of patient satisfaction research: an empirical exploration.Sociology of Health & Illness, 5, 3, pp. 297–311.
16.
GummerusJ., LiljanderV., PuraM., & Van RielA. (2004) Customer loyalty to content-based web sites: the case of an online health-care service.Journal of Services Marketing, 18, 3, pp. 175–186.
17.
HoggM.A., & TerryD.J. (2000) Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts.Academy of Management Review, 25, 1, pp. 121–140.
18.
HuL.T., & BentlerP.M. (1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives.Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1, pp. 1–55.
19.
HuangY.-Y., & LiS.-J. (2010) Understanding quality perception gaps among executives, frontline employees, and patients: the outpatient services in Taiwan hospitals.Quality Management in Health Care, 19, 2, pp. 173–184.
20.
KarlK., & PeluchetteJ. (2006) How does workplace fun impact employee perceptions of customer service quality?Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 13, 2, pp. 2–13.
21.
KitchenhamB., & PfleegerS.L. (2002) Principles of survey research – part 5: populations and samples.ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes, 27, 5, pp. 17–20.
22.
KlausP., & MaklanS. (2013) Towards a better measure of customer experience.International Journal of Market Research, 55, 2, pp. 227–246.
23.
KlineR.B. (2010) Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, 3rd edn.New York: Guilford Publications.
24.
KreinerG.E., & AshforthB.E. (2004) Evidence toward an expanded model of organizational identification.Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 1, pp. 1–27.
25.
LiS.J., HuangY.Y., & YangM.M. (2011) How satisfaction modifies the strength of the influence of perceived service quality on behavioral intentions.Leadership in Health Services, 24, 2, pp. 91–105.
26.
MacKinnonD.P., LockwoodC.M., & WilliamsJ. (2004) Confidence limits for the indirect effect: distribution of the product and resampling methods.Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39, 1, pp. 99–128.
27.
MacKinnonD.P., LockwoodC.M., HoffmanJ.M., WestS.G., & SheetsV. (2002) A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects.Psychological Methods, 7, 1, pp. 83–104.
28.
NewcomerL.N. (1997) Perspective: measures of trust in health care.Health Affairs, 16, 1, pp. 50–51.
29.
OlsenS.O. (2002) Comparative evaluation and the relationship between quality, satisfaction, and repurchase loyalty.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30, 3, pp. 240–249.
30.
ParasuramanA., ZeithamlV.A., & BerryL.L. (1985) A conceptual-model of service quality and its implications for future-research.Journal of Marketing, 49, 4, pp. 41–50.
31.
ParasuramanA., ZeithamlV.A., & BerryL.L. (1988) SERVQUAL – a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality.Journal of Retailing, 64, 1, pp. 12–40.
32.
PodsakoffP.M., MacKenzieS.B., LeeJ.-Y., & PodsakoffN.P. (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies.Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 5, pp. 879–903.
33.
PreacherK., & HayesA. (2004) SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models.Behavior Research Methods, 36, 4, pp. 717–731.
34.
PreacherK., & HayesA. (2008) Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models.Behavior Research Methods, 40, 3, pp. 879–891.
35.
RestubogS.L.D., HornseyM.J., BordiaP., & EsposoS.R. (2008) Effects of psychological contract breach on organizational citizenship behaviour: insights from the group value model.Journal of Management Studies, 45, 8, pp. 1377–1400.
36.
SlussD.M., PloyhartR.E., CobbM.G., & AshforthB.E. (2012) Generalizing newcomers' relational and organizational identifications: processes and prototypicality.Academy of Management Journal, 55, 4, pp. 949–975.
37.
Stone-RomeroE.F., & RosopaP.J. (2004) Inference problems with hierarchical multiple regression-based tests of mediating effects.Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 23, pp. 249–290.
38.
WardK.F., RollandE., & PattersonR.A. (2005) Improving outpatient health care quality: understanding the quality dimensions.Health Care Management Review, 30, 4, pp. 361–371.
39.
ZeithamlV.A., BerryL.L., & ParasuramanA. (1996) The behavioral consequences of service quality.Journal of Marketing, 60, 2, pp. 31–46.
40.
ZhangY., ZhangL., LeiH., YueY., & ZhuJ. (2016) Lagged effect of daily surface acting on subsequent day's fatigue.Service Industries Journal, 36, 15–16, pp. 809–826.
41.
ZhangZ., WangM., & ShiJ. (2012) Leader–follower congruence in proactive personality and work outcomes: the mediating role of leader–member exchange.Academy of Management Journal, 55, 1, pp. 111–130.
