The Effects of Physicians' Feelings of Empowerment and Service Quality Perceptions on Hospital Recommendations

This paper investigates the role of physicians' feelings of empowerment and service quality perceptions on their satisfaction with a hospital to determine the strength of each relationship. The aim of the study is to provide suggestions for better hospital management and some insight for theory building. The authors employ physician survey data to address the impact of feelings of empowerment and service quality perceptions on a physician's likelihood to recommend a hospital to his or her peers. The data suggest that almost 32 percent of the variance in physicians' likelihood to recommend a hospital to their peers is explained by the quality of hospital operations. Additionally, the current study suggests that physicians' feelings of empowerment impact their hospital service quality perceptions. An effective strategy to address the physician shortage involves focusing on physician satisfaction. Physician satisfaction can be improved by involving them in hospital decisions and then establishing clear expectations of hospital processes. The data from this study show that physicians' feelings of empowerment may moderate the effect of service quality perceptions on physician satisfaction. This means that maintaining high physician satisfaction requires the involvement of physicians in the hospital's decision-making processes.

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