The Assessment of the Domestic and Foreign Medical Services and the Intents to Participate in Medical Tourism

Abstract

Purpose:The aim of the study was to identify the relationship between the assessment of the domestic medical services and the expectations connected with foreign medical services as well as the identification of the impact of the gap between these values on the intent to take the offer of MT and the differences among young consumers from various countries. Design/Methodology/Approach: The fully structured questionnaire was used for the survey that included the convenience sample of 570 respondents who were young consumers from Jordan, Poland and Turkey. Multiple regression was used to verify the hypotheses. Findings: Both the assessment of domestic medical services and the expectations regarding foreign services show a statistically significant relationship with the intent to undertake MT, while in the case of expectations, this relationship is twice as strong. The identified gaps have positive values meaning that the level of expectations regarding the quality of the service provided abroad exceeds the level of the assessment of these aspects in relation to the domestic service. Significant differences were demonstrated between Poland, Turkey and Jordan. Practical Implications: Identified differences in each group of buyers provide suggestions on information strategies aimed at stimulating readiness to travel in order to use MT services addressed to people from a given country Originality/Value: The obtained results show that the expectations that young consumers have towards this type of services are of key importance for the intent to undertake medical tourism. The lack of confirmation of the greater significance of the gap between the assessment and expectations does not mean that the assumptions relating to the method of testing the quality of services are negated, but only suggests doubts as to the applicability of the model assumptions for the situation of predicting future consumer decisions not based on previous experience.