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Improving service quality in healthcare organisations through geomarketing statistical tools

Mauro Cavallone (Business Economics and Quantitative Methods, Universita degli Studi di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy)
Francesca Magno (Universita degli Studi di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy)
Alberto Zucchi (Agenzia di Tutela della Salute (ATS) Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy)

The TQM Journal

ISSN: 1754-2731

Article publication date: 9 October 2017

643

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how geomarketing statical tools (notably, gravitational models) can support healthcare organisations to improve the quality of their services.

Design/methodology/approach

Geomarketing tools were applied to the analysis of data (91,478 observations) concerning the performance of nuclear magnetic resonance.

Findings

Geomarketing models can support and enhance the planning of service provisions of healthcare organisations. Drawing the planning actions on the patient needs and actual behaviours allow the healthcare organisations to obtain better market performance.

Practical implications

The results support the health service planning activities related to covering the so-called “offer gaps”.

Originality/value

This is the first study to apply geomarketing to improve the quality of healthcare services.

Keywords

Citation

Cavallone, M., Magno, F. and Zucchi, A. (2017), "Improving service quality in healthcare organisations through geomarketing statistical tools", The TQM Journal, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 690-704. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-12-2016-0104

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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