Page 84 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.82, # 1, 2025, pp. 70-88

management strategies. Conversely, the absence of significant differences across age
groups indicates that age may not substantially affect patient perceptions in this
context. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that prioritizing empathy and
responsiveness in healthcare services is critical for enhancing patient satisfaction.
Healthcare institutions should focus not only on improving physical facilities but also
on investing in staff training and effective patient communication to elevate service
quality. Although some variability exists across different cultural and sectoral
contexts, a human-centered and responsive service approach generally contributes
positively to patient satisfaction. Future research is recommended to further
investigate the effects of Reliability and Assurance dimensions and to conduct
comparative studies across diverse healthcare systems. In the study by Hasanlı and
Salihova (2019), the impact of investments in the tourism sector on other sectors,
production volume, and employment levels in the country was evaluated using models
based on “Input-Output” tables for the economies of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and
Kazakhstan. Input-output models highlight the interconnections between the tourism
sector and other industries such as transportation, accommodation, and retail. A
similar pattern can be observed in the healthcare sector; for instance, a hospital with
high-quality services can attract more patients, thereby increasing the demand for
pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and support services. This reflects a ripple effect
similar to the economic impact generated by tourism investments.

CONCLUSION
This empirical study conducted within the healthcare sector of Azerbaijan provides
critical insights into the relationship between service quality and patient satisfaction,
employing the SERVQUAL model to evaluate the impact of its five dimensions—
Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy. The findings reveal
that Empathy and Responsiveness are the most significant predictors of patient
satisfaction, with Empathy demonstrating the strongest influence (B = 0.384, p <
0.001) followed by Responsiveness (B = 0.254, p = 0.023). These results underscore
the pivotal role of patient-centered care, where compassionate, individualized
attention and prompt responses to patient needs significantly enhance the overall
healthcare experience. Tangibles, encompassing physical facilities and equipment,
also emerged as a statistically significant factor (B = 0.147, p = 0.047), indicating that
a well-maintained and aesthetically pleasing environment contributes to patient
satisfaction, albeit to a lesser extent than interpersonal factors. In contrast, Reliability
and Assurance were found to have no statistically significant impact on patient
satisfaction in this study (p = 0.959 and p = 0.526, respectively). This deviation from
some prior research, such as Ariffin et al. (2022), which highlighted reliability as a
key determinant, may be attributed to contextual factors such as cultural expectations,

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