최근 의료서비스는 시장의 확대 및 의료 시장의 개방과 맞물려 경쟁이 더욱 심화되고 있다. 이러한 상황에 대처하기 위하여 의료기관은 첨단설비의 구축뿐만 아니라 의료진의 인적 서비스 역시 중요하게 관리하는 추세이다. 의료서비스의 경우, 다른 서비스와는 달리 전문적인 지식을 요하고 모호성이 높기 때문에 서비스스케이프와 인적 서비스의 영향력이 크다. 그럼에도 불구하고 위의 두 요인에 초점을 맞춘 연구는 매우 미흡한 실정이다. 본 연구는 의료서비스 품질의 구성요소인 서비스스케이프와 인적서비스가 인지 및 감정반응(만족, 후회, 분노)과 행동의도(재이용 의도 및 부정적 구전 의도)에 미치는 영향을 실증적으로 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 서비스스케이프와 인적서비스의정도에 따라 이용자의 만족, 후회, 분노에 유의적인 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 우선 만족은 서비스스케이프와인적서비스의 수준이 둘 다 높을 경우에 가장 크고, 후회와 분노는 높은 수준의 서비스스케이프와 낮은 수준의 인적 서비스 일 경우에 가장 큰 것으로 나타났다. 또한 서비스스케이프와 인적서비스의 수준에 따라 형성된 만족, 후회, 분노는 재이용 의도 및 부정적 구전의도에도 차별적인 영향을 미침을 입증하였다. 만족은 재이용의도에 정의 영향을 미치는 반면 후회와 분노는 재이용 의도에 부의 영향을 미친다. 그리고 만족은 부정적 구전의도에 부의 영향을 후회와 분노는 부정적 구전의도에 정의 영향을 미친다. 본 연구는 의료서비스의 품질을 평가하는데 새롭게 이용할 수 있는 비디오 시나리오라는 조사방법과 의료서비스에서 관심을 기울여야하는 후회, 분노라는 부정적 감정변수를 제시하였다. 그리고 서비스스케이프와 인적 서비스 통합적으로 살펴봄으로써 두 개의 요소간의 상대적인 영향력을 분석했다는 점에서 중요한 시사점을 갖는다.
This research has empirically examined the relative influence of two components of service quality - physical component (servicescape) and human component (human services) on customers'responses. This research has been carried out in the setting of healthcare services. Customers'responses included cognitive, emotional (satisfaction, regret, and anger), and behavioral responses (re-patronage intention and negative word-of-mouth intention).
Servicescape is important in many services since it delivers physical cues (information) on the quality of a given service. Oftentimes, it is difficult to evaluate the quality of a service because of intangible nature of services and servicescape plays a role of providing tangible evidences by which to evaluate the service quality tangibly even before the actual experience of the services.
In this study, in addition to servicescape, we considered the human service as another component of service quality in healthcare service industry. Human services includes service providers'care, concern, empathy, comfort, and so forth to the customers' problem. Human services are especially important in healthcare services since most customers in healthcare services are in miserable conditions, physically as well as mentally.
While some research has been carried out on physical component of service quality (servicescape),studies that examined the influence of human component of service quality (human services)This research was implemented using a combination of scenario method and survey questionnaire method. Scenario was a video that displayed both the servicescape of a clinic and the level of human services delivered to a patient. Videos were taken at an actual doctor's office of a large general hospital. The doctor and the patient were played by trained research assistants.
The current study employed a 2 (servicescape; good and bad) x 2 (human services; good and bad) between subject design. A sample of 203 students participated in this study. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. They were shown one of the four types of videos and asked to fill out the questionnaire. Questionnaires assessed respondents' responses in terms of satisfaction, regret, anger, re-patronage intention, and negative word-of-mouth intention.
All measures were assessed by 5-point scale items. Questionnaires were self administered.
Forty three questionnaires were found to be non-usable because of many missing and unsatisfactory responses. Consequently, these questionnaires were removed and the rest of 158 surveys were finally analyzed in this research.
Findings showed that there are significant differences in respondents' satisfaction, regret,and anger depending on the level of servicescape and human services. Specifically, the study showed when both servicescape and human service were good, respondents demonstrated the highest level of satisfaction, as expected. However, when servicescape was good but the level of human services were low, respondents showed the highest level of both regret and anger.
Actually, the levels of regret and anger were even higher than when both servicescaqpe and human services were bad.
This finding provides important implications for service providers. First, when servicescape was good but the human services were bad, respondents felt kinds of betrayal that consequently led to negative emotional responses such as regret and anger. Second, the condition of good servicescape and bad human services is waste of service firm's resources. Building good servicescape does not provide the desired return, only resulting in customers' regret and anger.
Service providers should take all kinds of effort to prevent this by designing delivery of good human services.
The current study also found that satisfaction, regret, and anger had differential effect on re-patronage intention and negative word-of-mouth intention. Specifically, the study has demonstrated that satisfaction forced by servicescape and human services had positive influence on re-patronage intention, but negative influence on negative WOM intention. However, on the contrary, regret and anger had negative influence on re-patronage intention, but positive influence on negative WOM intention.
The current study has made academic contribution in that it empirically investigated the relative importance of physical component (servicescape) and human component of service quality (human services). The study has also made methodological contribution by employing videos as part of scenario method, for the first time in domestic research.
This research has raised issues on the importance of human services, particularly in healthcare services. Also it has suggested the need to consider servicescape and human services in an integrative manner. Finally, limitations of the research and directions of future research were suggested.
