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Structural Causal Relationships among Service Image, Service Satisfaction, Emotional Commitment and Customer Loyalty in Hospitals: Moderating Effects of Relationship Proneness

Cho, Hyoungrae (Bagae Hospital)
Choi, Chul-Jae (Faculty of Business Administration, Dankook University)

Publication Information

Korea Journal of Hospital Management / v.23, no.1, 2018 , pp. 65-77 More about this Journal

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the structural causal relationships between service image, service satisfaction, affective commitment, and customer loyalty to customers who have experienced hospital medical services, and to identifies the mediating effect of relationship proneness in explaining the effects of service image, service satisfaction, and affectivel commitment on customer loyalty. For this study, 250 respondents were surveyed and data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 20.0 statistical package. Statistical analysis tools, such as SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 20.0 were utilized for ensuring the validity and the reliability, whereas the SEM method was used for testing the research hypothesis. The results of study are as follows. Service image had significant influence on service satisfaction and emotional commitment. First, Service satisfaction was significant for emotional commitment and customer loyalty, and emotional commitment had a significant effect on customer loyalty. Therefore, the path relations between variables were all statistically significant. Second, there was differences the moderating effect of the relationship proneness in the effects of service satisfaction, service image and affective commitment on customer loyalty. In other words, the moderating effect of the relationship tendency was consistent with the research hypothesis and the adjustment effect was significant in the relationship between service satisfaction and customer loyalty. However, there was no control effect in relation to service image and customer loyalty and affective commitment and customer loyalty. Therefore, In order to secure long-term and stable profits by establishing a relationship with their customers, the medical service marketing strategies of hospitals should be promoted to enhance customer loyalty by raising the level of service satisfaction to high relationship proneness group and by raising the the level of affective commitment to low relationship proneness group.

Keywords

Service Image; Service Satisfaction; Affective Commitment; Customer Loyalty; Relationship Proneness;

Citations & Related Records

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