The impact of service quality and patient satisfaction on electronic word-of-mouth in cosmetic surgery patients in Thailand

Abstract

A growing number of cosmetic surgery providers have created a fierce competition in the industry and growing concern in advertisement ethic. Word-ofmouth has been proven to be one of the most effective and more sustainable means to attract new customers. This qualitative study aims to determine the direct and indirect predictors of an electronic version of WOM (eWOM) through service quality and patient satisfaction. The samples were 385 cosmetic surgery patients in Thailand who answered an online questionnaire. A total of 14 outliers were excluded. Direct predictors of eWOM include two service quality dimensions – reliability and physician concern – and patient satisfaction. Indirect predictors of eWOM include responsiveness, reliability, tangible, and staff concern. Physician technical skills and interpersonal skill were the top two dimensions which affect the intensity of eWOM. Reliability was the only dimension which directly affects both patient satisfaction and eWOM. A recommendation for cosmetic surgery providers is to focus on word-ofmouth as a primary method of marketing by continuously improving the quality of outcome and the quality of the relationship between patients and physicians. Further recommendation for the policymaker is to engage with stakeholders as well as health care providers to overhaul its policy on media advertisement and marketing. In order for Thailand to be a leader in medical tourism, it needs a good advertising and marketing strategy at a country level, but at the same time, without losing the quality and the trust of the patients which would help generate word-of-mouth. Further study is recommended on extrinsic factors that contribute to WOM, such as economic incentives and social benefits.