The Role of Service Encounter Interaction Behavior in Activating Customer Participation and Co-Creating Value in the Health Care Service

Abstract

This research aims to explore the role of service encounter behaviors and customers’ participation in the interaction process to co-create value, leading to customer satisfaction. A model is developed and tested in the health care context. Based on the data of 320 paired patient–physician cases, the analysis reveals that physician’s interactions are critical customer-oriented behaviors, which directly affect customer value. More importantly, it plays a key role in activating the customer participation in a service creation. From the customer view, although actively engaging in a service requires more resources, it is worthy because it creates much more value-in-use.