Marketing and Its Impact on Service Quality in the Healthcare Industry of Pakistan

Authors

  • Saqib Mehmood Department of Administration, COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Cantt, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Umer Department of Management Science, COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Cantt, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Mohsin Zahid Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Cantt, Pakistan
  • Ahsen Maqsoom Department of Civil Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Cantt, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.4870.2022

Keywords:

Internal marketing, internal service quality, external service quality, healthcare, marketing, employee retention

Abstract

The quality of healthcare services in every society has been a dire need across each era. The effective implementation of which is only possible if the healthcare workers get provided with a suitable environment to perform their duties in. Considering this, the current study determines the impact of internal marketing on the quality of external services delivered to the patients in the labor-intensive healthcare industry of Pakistan. Further, the mediatory role of internal service quality between the said variables is taken into account. The survey-based study was conducted in the twin metropolitans of Pakistan (Islamabad & Rawalpindi). The collected data from 500 individuals comprised of internal customers i.e. doctors, staff members, and external customers i.e. patients, of the public sector as well as private sector hospitals. The study conclusively suggested a significantly positive impact of internal marketing over the external service quality; in both service sectors. Though the public-sector healthcare organizations were found to be comparatively more effective in the implementation of service quality delivered to its customers, in contrast to the private sector healthcare institutions.

References

Akhtar, M. F., Ali, K., & Sadaqat, S. (2011). Factors influencing the profitability of Islamic banks of Pakistan. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, 66, 125-132.

Al-Borie, H. M., & Sheikh Damanhouri, A. M. (2013). Patients' satisfaction of service quality in Saudi hospitals: a SERVQUAL analysis. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 26(1), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526861311288613

Allen, D., Braithwaite, J., Sandall, J., & Waring, J. (2016). Towards a sociology of healthcare safety and quality. Sociology of Health and Illness, 38(2), 181-197. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12390

Babbie, E., Wagner III, W. E., & Zaino, J. (2018). Adventures in social research: Data analysis using IBM SPSS statistics. Sage Publications.

Blake, N. (2015). The nurse leader's role in supporting healthy work environments. AACN Advanced Critical Care, 26(3), 201-203. https://doi.org/10.4037/NCI.0000000000000089

Blunch, N. (2012). Introduction to structural equation modeling using IBM SPSS statistics and AMOS. Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526402257

Bolin, J. H. (2014). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression-based approach. Journal of Educational Management, 51(3), 335-337. https://doi.org/10.1111/jedm.12050

Bouranta, N., Chitiris, L., & Paravantis, J. (2009). The relationship between internal and external service quality. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 21(3), 275-293. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596110910948297

Byun, G., Karau, S. J., Dai, Y., & Lee, S. (2018). A three-level examination of the cascading effects of ethical leadership on employee outcomes: A moderated mediation analysis. Journal of Business Research, 88, 44-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.03.004

Campbell, R., Martin, C., & Fabos, B. (2018). Media essentials: A brief introduction: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128-152. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393553

Dearing, J. W., & Rogers, E. M. (1996). Agenda-Setting (Communication Concepts). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452243283

Dhawan, P., & Prior, D. (2017). Internal branding and leader-member exchange: Role of cultural capital in employee's service delivery behaviour in healthcare sector. Proceedings of the 2017 Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress, 259. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68750-6_79

Foreman, S. K., & Money, A. H. (1995). Internal marketing: Concepts, measurement and application. Journal of Marketing Management, 11(8), 755-768. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.1995.9964388

Fortenberry Jr, J. L., & McGoldrick, P. J. (2016). Internal marketing: A pathway for healthcare facilities to improve the patient experience. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 9(1), 28-33. https://doi.org/10.1179/2047971915Y.0000000014

Fröhlich, E., & Grimm, S. (2016). Internal marketing: How to increase a department's reputation within its company. Journal of Media Critiques, 2(8), 239-248. https://doi.org/10.17349/jmc116218

George, D., & Mallery, P. (2019). IBM SPSS statistics 26 step by step: A simple guide and reference. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429056765

George, W. R. (1990). Internal marketing and organizational behavior: A partnership in developing customer-conscious employees at every level. Journal of Business Research, 20(1), 63-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(90)90043-D

Gera, R., Mittal, S., Batra, D. K., & Prasad, B. (2017). Evaluating the effects of service quality, customer satisfaction, and service value on behavioral intentions with life insurance customers in India. International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology, 8(3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJSSMET.2017070101

Gunawardane, G. (2011). Reliability of the internal service encounter. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 28(9), 1003-1018. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656711111172559

Han, H., & Hyun, S. S. (2015). Customer retention in the medical tourism industry: Impact of quality, satisfaction, trust, and price reasonableness. Tourism Management, 46, 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.06.003

Haugland, S. A., Myrtveit, I., & Nygaard, A. (2007). Market orientation and performance in the service industry: A data envelopment analysis. Journal of Business Research, 60(11), 1191-1197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.03.005

Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach: Pearson Education.

Huang, Y.-T., Rundle-Thiele, S., & Chen, Y.-H. (2019). Extending understanding of the internal marketing practice and employee satisfaction relationship: A budget Chinese airline empirical examination. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 25(1), 88-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356766718757270

Khuwaja, H. M. A. (2021). Phasing out diploma in nursing: Merits and implications on nursing education in Pakistan Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 71(3), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.463

Kim, M., Vogt, C. A., & Knutson, B. J. (2015). Relationships among customer satisfaction, delight, and loyalty in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 39(2), 170-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348012471376

Kossmann, M. (2017). Delivering excellent service quality in aviation: A practical guide for internal and external service providers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315258232

Kurtulmuşoğlu, F. B., & Pakdil, F. (2017). Combined analysis of service expectations and perceptions in lodging industry through quality function deployment. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 28(11-12), 1393-1413. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2016.1147945

Leech, N. L., Barrett, K. C., & Morgan, G. A. (2014). IBM SPSS for intermediate statistics: Use and interpretation. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203122778

McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990

Meesala, A., & Paul, J. (2018). Service quality, consumer satisfaction and loyalty in hospitals: Thinking for the future. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, 261-269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.10.011

Melo, A. J., Hernández-Maestro, R. M., & Muñoz-Gallego, P. A. (2017). Service quality perceptions, online visibility, and business performance in rural lodging establishments. Journal of Travel Research, 56(2), 250-262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287516635822

Park, J. H., & Tran, T. B. H. (2018). Internal marketing, employee customer‐oriented behaviors, and customer behavioral responses. Psychology and Marketing, 35(6), 412-426. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21095

Phillips, T., Evans, J. L., Tooley, S., & Shirey, M. R. (2018). Nurse manager succession planning: A cost-benefit analysis. Journal of nursing Management, 26(2), 238-243. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12512

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141-166. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141

Salant, P., Dillman, I., & Don, A. (1994). How to conduct your own survey. Wiley.

Schmumpeter, J. A. (1943). Capitalism, socialism and democracy. Routledge.

Sharma, P., Kong, T. T. C., & Kingshott, R. P. (2016). Internal service quality as a driver of employee satisfaction, commitment and performance: Exploring the focal role of employee well-being. Journal of Service Management, 27(5), 773-797. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2015-0294

Sharma, R., Binsardi, A., Green, J., & Ekwulugo, F. (2012). The application of internal marketing (IM) in a service organization. International Journal of Business and Social Research, 2(1), 25-50.

To, W. M., Martin Jr, E. F., & Billy, T. (2015). Effect of management commitment to internal marketing on employee work attitude. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 45, 14-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.11.002

Todorova, G., & Durisin, B. (2007). Absorptive capacity: Valuing a reconceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 774-786. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.25275513

Um, K. H., & Lau, A. K. (2018). Healthcare service failure: how dissatisfied patients respond to poor service quality. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 38(5), 1245-1270. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-11-2016-0669

Vogus, T. J., & McClelland, L. E. (2016). When the customer is the patient: Lessons from healthcare research on patient satisfaction and service quality ratings. Human Resource Management Review, 26(1), 37-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.09.005

Whitener, E. M. (2001). Do "high commitment" human resource practices affect employee commitment? A cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling. Journal of Management, 27(5), 515-535. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-2063(01)00106-4

World Health Organisation. (2013, November 11). Global health workforce shortage to reach 12.9 million in coming decades. World Health Organisation. https://apps.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/health-workforce-shortage/en/index.html

Yurtseven, G., & Halici, A. (2012). Importance of the motivational factors affecting employees satisfaction. International Business Research, 5(1), 72. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v5n1p72

Downloads

Published

2022-08-08

How to Cite

Saqib Mehmood, Muhammad Umer, Muhammad Mohsin Zahid, & Ahsen Maqsoom. (2022). Marketing and Its Impact on Service Quality in the Healthcare Industry of Pakistan. International Journal of Business and Society, 23(2), 1267–1285. https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.4870.2022