From Hospitals to Hospitality

Blood donation is an altruistic social service in that it has no direct benefit for the customer donor, and only benefits other people and society as a whole. Prior research has identified the customer experience as an important motivator or deterrent of this donation behaviour and thus understanding the value derived from this altruistic experience is important. This research extends current scholarship by investigating the perceived value by current and potential donors in an altruistic service context. Within this context, the donor is an operant resource to blood donation organisations in both delivering the service experience and sharing this experience with others.

In this era of social connectedness via social media such as Facebook and Twitter, understanding the role of other people and influence of online conversations about blood donation on donor behaviour is important. Therefore, this research also examines the role of social media word-of-mouth communication on influencing perceived value, satisfaction and blood donor behaviour.

Guiding Theory:

• Experiential Customer Value
• Value Co-Creation
• Word-of-mouth (WOM)