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Vulnerability in in-vitro fertilisation transformative services: an interplay of individual and institutional factors

Nichola Robertson (Department of Marketing, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia)
Yelena Tsarenko (Department of Marketing, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia)
Michael Jay Polonsky (Department of Marketing, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia)
Lisa McQuilken (Department of Marketing, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia)

Journal of Services Marketing

ISSN: 0887-6045

Article publication date: 28 July 2021

Issue publication date: 6 October 2021

460

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the factors driving and mitigating the experienced vulnerabilities of women undergoing the transformative service of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), and how this influences women’s evaluations and intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework was tested using quantitative data collected via an online survey of Australian women who have undergone IVF treatment. Hayes’ PROCESS macro was used to analyse the data.

Findings

The results indicate that women’s persistent goal-striving alongside their perceived personal sacrifices influence the association between their need for parenthood and their experienced vulnerability. Institutional factors such as IVF clinic technical and interpersonal quality influence these consumers’ IVF experience evaluations and word-of-mouth (WoM) intentions.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s results are limited to women who are undergoing IVF treatment. Further empirical work is needed to deepen the understanding of the role played by partners and other family members in women’s IVF experiences.

Practical implications

IVF clinics can reduce women’s experienced vulnerability by encouraging women who have a good probability of succeeding to persist in the pursuit of the goal of conceiving a child via IVF. This can be achieved by enabling and empowering them so that they give themselves the best chance during treatment, thus facilitating their control. Managing the expectations of those women with a lower probability of success is also recommended. The importance of the technical and interpersonal quality delivered by IVF clinics in influencing the positive evaluations and behavioural intentions of women experiencing vulnerabilities is further highlighted.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the transformative service research literature by: examining the IVF transformative experience, which has been largely overlooked; focussing on the intersection of transformative services and consumers experiencing vulnerability, which is an emerging research area; and testing a framework quantitatively that intermingles individual and institutional factors as antecedents and consequences of consumers’ experienced vulnerabilities, advancing the existing conceptual and qualitative work.

Keywords

Citation

Robertson, N., Tsarenko, Y., Polonsky, M.J. and McQuilken, L. (2021), "Vulnerability in in-vitro fertilisation transformative services: an interplay of individual and institutional factors", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp. 706-721. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2020-0306

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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