EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN HEALTH ENTERPRISES: A FIELD STUDY IN KONYA

Customer satisfaction is a key component for business success. Private enterprises as well as government organisations have to understand their customers, meet their requests and needs in order to attain customer satisfaction and retention. To achieve this, they also have to build a strong relationship with their current and potential customers. Considering this fact, the main objective of this study is to determine customers’ (patients) perception of service quality and satisfaction in public and private health enterprises. A field study is conducted using survey method and a questionnaire is used collect data from a sample of patients. The study sample is chosen by judgement sampling among the hospitalized patients in public and private health enterprises in Konya. Exploratory factor analysis is used to determine the dimensions of health services quality. Regression analysis is used to examine the effects of different dimensions of hospital service quality on customer satisfaction. Results revealed that customers’ perceptions of service quality between public and private enterprises significantly differ. Further, some dimensions of service quality significantly effect patient satisfaction. Implications of the findings are discussed