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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

Michel Laroche, Jasmin Bergeron and Christine Goutaland

The marketing literature suggests that product intangibility is positively associated with perceived risk and the intangibility construct encompasses three dimensions: physical…

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Abstract

The marketing literature suggests that product intangibility is positively associated with perceived risk and the intangibility construct encompasses three dimensions: physical intangibility, mental intangibility, and generality. The purpose of this research is to test which dimension of the intangibility construct is the most correlated with perceived risk. A survey was conducted and structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the proposed model. Results show that the mental dimension of intangibility accounts for more variance in the perceived risk construct than the other two dimensions, even when knowledge and involvement are included as moderators. Hence, the challenge for marketers might not be so much to reduce risk by physically tangibilizing goods and services, as has been advised for the past two decades, as rather to mentally tangibilize their offerings.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2018

Vai Shiem Leong, Sally Hibbert and Christine Ennew

This study aims to examine the effects of enhanced visualization of intangible service value through integration of means-end perspectives on advertising effectiveness.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effects of enhanced visualization of intangible service value through integration of means-end perspectives on advertising effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

Banking advertisements, incorporating message stimuli derived from salient values desired by the financial consumers and designed to assist message elaboration and stimulate personal relevance, were developed to examine the influence of cognitive connectivity on vividness of intangible service benefits and service advertising effectiveness.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that greater cognitive connectivity positively affects perceived tangibility, attitude toward the advertisement and attitude toward the brand. Additionally, the results indicated that perceived personal relevance has higher influence on envisioning service components, compared to one’s ability to connect visual cues to perceived benefits and to immediate end-goals.

Research limitations/implications

This study incorporated visual stimuli limited only to financial security and social recognition. Future research should aim to examine the effects of different types of values on consumers’ elaboration process and their ability to visualize financial services.

Originality/value

This study extends knowledge of the means-end chain by proposing a means-end cognitive connectivity construct which influences the degree that consumers are able to mentally picture intangible service attributes. This study also provides insight that different values have different degree of influence on one’s ability to visualize service.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2015

Bikash Ranjan Debata, Bhaswati Patnaik, Siba Sankar Mahapatra and Kumar Sree

The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions of service quality as well as of service loyalty in the context of medical tourism. It seeks to demonstrate the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions of service quality as well as of service loyalty in the context of medical tourism. It seeks to demonstrate the conceptualization of medical tourism service loyalty (MTSL) construct. This research also attempts to examine the effect of service quality dimensions on service loyalty dimensions of medical tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The dimensions of service quality as well as of service loyalty are identified using an exploratory factor analysis. Next, the reliability and validity of the quality factors and loyalty factors are established through confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 18.0 version. The related hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The paper identifies eight-factor construct for medical tourism service quality and three-factor construct for MTSL. It is found that the treatment satisfaction dimension of service quality has positive and significant impact on MTSL. It is also observed that, overall, medical tourism service quality has positive impact on MTSL.

Practical implications

These dimensions of service quality should be viewed as the levers of improving perceived service quality with respect to medical tourism. Examining the service quality dimensions’ impact on customer loyalty for medical tourism sector can offer the industry valuable insights regarding which aspects of the service to focus on in order to improve medical tourist’s satisfaction and loyalty toward the firms.

Originality/value

This paper introduces the concept of service quality and service loyalty in medical tourism sector. In conceptualizing MTSL, the authors propose an integration of behavioral measures, attitudinal measures and cognitive measures. The interrelationship between the service quality construct and medical loyalty construct was established using SEM. This is useful for the healthcare manager to measure the medical tourist’s perceptions of service quality on these dimensions as related to medical tourism performance.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

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