TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors affecting physician loyalty and exit
T2 - A longitudinal analysis of physician-hospital relationships
AU - Burns, L. R.
AU - Wholey, Douglas R
PY - 1992/1/1
Y1 - 1992/1/1
N2 - This article examines forces that influence physicians to change the percentage of their admissions to a hospital (loyalty) and to cease admitting patients to a hospital altogether (exit). Because physicians are both members of a hospital and consumers of its services, their admitting patterns can be described using models of employee commitment and consumer buying behavior. We test several hypotheses drawn from these literatures using data on physician admissions at hospitals over a two-year period. Results indicate that admitting patterns are explained primarily by convenience and inertia processes characteristic of consumer behavior. On the other hand, factors believed to influence organizational commitment (e.g., decision-making involvement, conflict, economic investments) have little effect on loyalty and exit. The findings question the utility of hospital strategies to improve the climate of physician-hospital relations, and suggest several qualifications for research on the commitment of professionals.
AB - This article examines forces that influence physicians to change the percentage of their admissions to a hospital (loyalty) and to cease admitting patients to a hospital altogether (exit). Because physicians are both members of a hospital and consumers of its services, their admitting patterns can be described using models of employee commitment and consumer buying behavior. We test several hypotheses drawn from these literatures using data on physician admissions at hospitals over a two-year period. Results indicate that admitting patterns are explained primarily by convenience and inertia processes characteristic of consumer behavior. On the other hand, factors believed to influence organizational commitment (e.g., decision-making involvement, conflict, economic investments) have little effect on loyalty and exit. The findings question the utility of hospital strategies to improve the climate of physician-hospital relations, and suggest several qualifications for research on the commitment of professionals.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 1563950
AN - SCOPUS:0026581244
SN - 0017-9124
VL - 27
SP - 1
EP - 24
JO - Health services research
JF - Health services research
IS - 1
ER -