Luka Samaržija, Hrvoje Pezo, Nikolina Dukić Samaržija: ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT CONCEPT ON USER SATISFACTION IN THE DENTAL INDUSTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
Original Paper
Luka Samaržija, Faculty of Economics and Business in Rijeka, Croatia
Hrvoje Pezo, Croatian Dental Chamber, Zagreb, Croatia
Nikolina Dukić Samaržija, Faculty of Economics and Business in Rijeka, Croatia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59014/NAZF9524
Keywords:
strategic alliances, supply chain management, vertical integration
Abstract
This paper analyzes the influence of supply chain management factors on patient satisfaction
in the dental supply chain of the Republic of Croatia. 102 dental polyclinics
and 915 users of dental services participated in the research. The data were collected
using a questionnaire, and were statistically processed first by factor and then by regression
analysis in order to determine the influence of the researched factors. After
the analysis was carried out, it was determined that the supply chain management
factors include flexibility, integration, responsiveness, supplier performance, quality
of relationships between partners and customer satisfaction. Regression analysis
found that only the quality of the relationship between partners contributes to user
satisfaction, which partially confirmed the research hypothesis. The contribution of
the conducted research is manifested in the realization that the concept of supply
chain management has been successfully implemented in the dental industry of the
Republic of Croatia, but unlike the cases in developed countries in Europe (Germany,
Switzerland, France), it is necessary to more intensively include other factors of
supply chain management in the work, such as would contribute more strongly to
patient satisfaction.
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