A study of the application of SDL theory to the healthcare sector of Pakistan

Malik, Sameer Abdal (2022) A study of the application of SDL theory to the healthcare sector of Pakistan. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This research aimed to analyse the applicability of Service Dominant Logic (SDL) in the healthcare sector of Pakistan. The author wished to make original contributions to SDL by providing empirical findings from the private healthcare clinics operating in Pakistan, with the aim to generalize the results with other developing countries having similar institutional/management settings. Doing so required the adaptation and modification of an SDL theoretical framework, that could justify the findings in context to the way healthcare businesses are conducted in Pakistan and similar developing countries. The need for developing an ‘SDL Presence Framework in Healthcare’ originated from the different characteristics that the customers of healthcare (patients) exhibited in comparison to the conventional business consumers. Identification of a different market for patients (Business-to-Patients ‘B2P’) led to designing the SDL Presence Framework, that could facilitate contextual and empirical measurement of SDL. The fulfilment of the aims of this research required data from more than one source. Therefore, the author progressed with conducting two case studies that could justify the findings and warrant the validation of empirical evidence. The author acquired permission to conduct research from the CEOs of two private healthcare clinics operating in Pakistan. Original identities of both organizations are changed due to the concerns of data confidentiality. The scope of this study was two private healthcare clinics (operating in Pakistan) that are present in different socio-economic settings and serve patients adhering to dissimilar social constructs/norms. The case study findings were useful in terms of identifying the differences in healthcare practice, which exist between developed and developing countries, and also within the scope of a developing country (heterogenous socio-economic societies). Results from this research confirmed the need to segment customer market in the healthcare sector and warranted the contextualization of value, so that it may be better understood in dissimilar economic settings as well as in the institutional parameters of national culture. Moreover, this exploration has been able to challenge the core of Service Dominant Logic by demonstrating that the theory on institutional arrangements fails its application to all the exchanges, when examined in the context of the developing world. This research has generated valuable insights that contribute to the development of SDL theory and practice in the healthcare sector. A strong attempt is made by the researcher to discuss the findings on the micro (organizational), meso, and macro (societal) levels of the service ecosystem. Empirical outcomes from the case studies have implications for SDL theory, general practitioners, the Pakistani healthcare system, and the relevant committee of the World Health Organization (WHO).