How do recommendations influence patient satisfaction? Evidence from an online health community

Dados Bibliográficos

ID7155705
AutoresHao Wang (0000-0003-3392-1562, School of Management and Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen), Han Liu (0000-0003-1868-9312), Shan Liu (0000-0002-8554-6306, Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Management), Baojun Gao (0000-0002-9190-8158, Economics and Management School, Wuhan University , ,), Arslan Aziz (0000-0003-3257-7130, Meta Platforms Inc)
Ano2025
Volume38
Fascículo6
Páginas2381-2412
Data de publicação2025-11-11
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInformation Technology and People (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0959-3845 • E-ISSN: 1758-5813
EditoraEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/itp-04-2023-0332
OpenAlexW4401176686
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas80

Purpose This study aims to explore whether seeking recommendations for doctors from offline word-of-mouth or online reviews influences patient satisfaction after treatment, and how the source of recommendation affects this effect. Design/methodology/approach Using a unique dataset of more than three million reviews from a popular Chinese online health community, this study used the coarsened exact matching method and built fixed-effect models to conduct empirical analysis. Findings The results suggest that selecting doctors according to recommendations can improve patient satisfaction and mitigate their dissatisfaction when encountering service failures. However, online recommendations were found to be less effective than offline sources in improving patient satisfaction. Originality/value This study provides important insights into patient satisfaction and doctor-patient relationships by revealing the antecedents of satisfaction and the potential for improving this relationship. It also contributes to the understanding of how recommendations in the healthcare context can improve patient satisfaction and alleviate the negative impact of service failures

Business · Empirical evidence · Empirical research · Originality · Patient satisfaction · Word of mouth · Computer Science · Customer Service Quality and Loyalty · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Medicine · Nursing · Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare · Psychology · Social Psychology · Marketing