The effects of respect and rapport on relationship quality perception of customers of small healthcare firms

Abstract

PurposeConsequent upon the intense competitive nature of today's business environment, service businesses are seeking for the most creative but effective means of attracting and retaining customers. One of the ways is to build quality relationship via interpersonal relationship with customers. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two ways of building interpersonal relationship with customers – respect and rapport, and their impact on overall customer perceived relationship quality, as well as the role of context/environment.Design/methodology/approachThis preliminary study reports on empirical results from a survey of customers of dental clinics in Malaysia. Data from a questionnaire survey of 563 respondents were analysed using factor analysis, Pearson correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The authors estimated the direct effect of respect and rapport on relationship quality as well as the moderating effect of context (cosmopolitan vs traditional milieu).FindingsThe results show that both rapport and respect are important in building quality relationship with customers. Environment/context has a direct effect on relationship quality. Context moderates the relationship between rapport and relationship quality but does not moderate the relationship between respect and relationship quality.Practical implicationsThis research is of practical use to service companies (especially healthcare service providers) interested in developing effective strategies for building quality relationship with customers. Building good rapport and respecting customers are useful relational strategies to pursue.Originality/valueThe effect of rapport and respect on relationship quality in the Asian context has not been studied before. The paper sheds light on the overlooked dimensions of respect and service sector (small healthcare businesses) and also highlights the contextual implications of the findings.

Strategies Hospital Manager Use to Improve Customer Services

“…The use of relationship marketing validates trustworthy behavior between supplier and purchaser in successful partnership [45]. Marketing experts link building respect and rapport as successful strategies for developing relationships with customers [44]. A review of marketing research literature includes customer commitment and trust as two important factors in building relationships with customers [46].…”

“…Shahraki (2014) [43] indicated that organizational decisions makers must realize the essential requirement in developing organizational goals is customer satisfaction through building trust and relationships with customers. Establishing relationships with customers is the most cost-effective way for organizational decision making to maintain a high level of customer loyalty [44]. The use of relationship marketing validates trustworthy behavior between supplier and purchaser in successful partnership [45].…”

“…When customers receive satisfaction, they will share the experience with other people [48]. Customers who have a good relationship with the service provider have a positive and satisfying experience [44]. When a customer is satisfied, the results can lead to positive word-of-mouth networking, which can enhance an organization's image, securing repeat customers, and increasing revenue [9].…”

Antecedents of rapport and its mediating role on relational cohesion in patient-physician interaction

“…Furthermore [ 54 ], conducted research in the context of dental clinics in Malaysia, investigating the impact of rapport on relationship quality. Their findings reveal a positive influence of rapport on the overall quality of the relationship between dental service providers and patients [ 12 ].…”

Managing Emotional Labour in Service Encounters in Healthcare Occupation in Bangladesh

“…Yee, Lee, Yeung & Cheng [2] and Zeithaml & Bitner [3] identified that organisations that focused on customer satisfaction were able to build loyal clients who then served to promote the organisations further through vital word-of-mouth advertising referrals. Correspondingly, empirical studies have found a correlation between high quality service encounters and organisations' success and survival in the healthcare sector [4] [5]. In developed countries, healthcare centres have been increasingly using higher quality customer service to satisfy their patients [6]- [8].…”