Managing the relationship with patients: the role of trust in the pharmacy

Trust has been studied in many different industries and settings because of its importance and influence in building successful relationships. It gains even more significance when dealing with credence services or in particular contexts, such as those in which one of the counterparts puts at stake something really important. There is no better example of a risky setting than the health care context. This study aims at analyzing the role played by multilayer trust (interpersonal and store trust) in the retail pharmacy, through two models estimation involving also satisfaction and trust consequences, as well as satisfaction antecedents. Results indicate that the core of a patient pharmacist/pharmacy relationship resides in three constructs: interpersonal trust, satisfaction and store trust. Particularly significant is the role played by interpersonal trust in determining satisfaction and, indirectly, store trust. Moreover, interesting managerial insights are given to better manage the relationship with customers. This study fulfills a gap of research regarding a relevant topic for relationship marketing that has not been analyzed in depth in the health care context. Now that the significant role played by trust in such a industry has been highlighted there is still space that need to be fulfilled, starting, for example, from what drives interpersonal trust in health care, opening exciting opportunities for future research.