Hospitality management and its factors : A comparative study of public and private hospitals in Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to identify the perceived service obtained by customers and to examine the opinion of employees towards hospitality management in both public and private hospitals in Thailand. Based on the objectives of the study, the theoretical linkage between the hospitality factors affecting customer satisfaction, which consist of service, employee behavior, and physical environment, was explored. Moreover, the theoretical linkage between service quality (mediating variable) and employee satisfaction, which consist of organizational leadership, information and analysis, development and involvement of employees, quality service management, and employee satisfaction towards customer satisfaction also was explored. The research methodology was mainly based on quantitative analysis, where Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) was used for analyzing the impacts of hospitality performance towards on employee satisfaction. The primary data were based on the cross-sectional data collected from the public and private hospitals investigated. As for the public and private hospitals, the unit consisted of 5 departments including out-patient department and in-patient department. The 5 departments represented were medicine, surgery-orthopedics, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, and eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT). Furthermore, in-depth interviews were carried out with two of the hospital directors with scholars in public and private management. The research findings showed that the highest score on perceived customer satisfaction at Banphaeo Hospital was reliability (provision of service standards) meanwhile assurance (employee-mannered) was the highest score for perceived customer satisfaction at Phyathai 3 Hospital. The results further showed that among the hospitality factors, service, employee behavior, and physical environment had a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction at both Banphaeo and Phyathai 3 Hospitals. When including the control variables (gender, age, educational level, income level, and marital status), employee behavior, had a greater effect on customer satisfaction at Banphaeo Hospital, meanwhile, at Phyathai 3 Hospital, service had a greater effect on customer satisfaction. Further results showed that among the hospitality management factors, organizational leadership, information and analysis, quality service management, and the development and involvement of employees had a positive and significant effect on employee satisfaction at both Banphaeo and Phyathai 3 Hospitals. When including the control variables (gender, age, educational level , and experience), the development and involvement of employees had a greater effect on employee satisfaction at both Banphaeo and Phyathai 3 Hospitals. In summary, based on the research findings both of customer and employee satisfaction almost emphasized on employee behavior and development and involvement of employees. In addition, according to the in-depth interview, the hospital directors at both Banphaeo and Phyathai 3 Hospitals had the same opinions regarding the supplemental results. Consequently, improving the caliber and quality of the healthcare workforce in order to achieve hospitality service quality to fulfill the needs and expectations of customers and employees in the future.