Determinants of prescription decision of a premium brand of standard milk formula among pediatricians in Medical City and Asian Hospitals: A basis for a proposed consumer decision model

• Main Author: Sarmiento, Mark Joseph
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2010
• Subjects: Milk industry; Pediatricians; Milk—Health aspects; Consumer behavior; Marketing
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3866; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/10704/viewcontent/CDTG004735_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The purpose of this study is to examine determinants that influence pediatricians decision to prescribe a particular brand of standard milk formula to their patients. Data were gathered through the use of a face-to-face questionnaire-based survey to 60 pediatricians, 30 from Asian Hospital and 30 from Medical City. Weighted means were computed to assess the degree of importance and level of performance of the determinants as perceived by the respondents. Grouping of determinants were made using factor analysis. Correlation coefficients were also computed to find out the associations between the variables, while Z-scores were calculated to determine the significant differences of the correlations. Findings indicate that the respondents consider Brand is supported by clinical studies (F2D) and Brand is safe or has minimal side effects (F2G) as the most important determinants, while Brand is supported by clinical studies (F2D) is considered as best in performance. The results also show that the determinants can be grouped into three components, namely Image & Doctor Support, Stakeholders, and Product Quality, and these can be a basis in forming a consumer strategic decision framework that can serve as an initial proposal to further understand the decision making process of pediatricians. Aside from this, no relationships were found between degree of importance and prescription decision, as well as level of performance and prescription decision. On the other hand, a significant correlation was established between degree of importance and level of performance. Lastly, no significant difference was found between the perceived degree of importance and perceived level of performance on prescription decision. 9 Implications of the findings reveal that marketing strategies that promote product quality may be most effective in being able to influence prescription decision of respondents, and ensure market share. Aside from this, limitations of the study include the constrained geographical locations of the participating hospitals, the lack of qualitative data to further enrich the quantitative data gathered, and the question on the average frequency of pediatricians in prescribing a particular brand in a week which was not able to capture the actual prescription habits of the respondents. The study recommends that more local empirical studies be conducted on this topic to further enrich existing literature. Other variables can also be examined, such as the characteristics of doctors and medical representatives, to determine their influence on prescription decision of pediatricians. Also, the proposed strategic decision framework can be used to develop scales for the components in order to further understand how these determinants can influence prescription decision of pediatricians. Aside from this, other medical practitioners can also use this framework to understand the influence of these components on their decision to prescribe medical drugs and other treatments to their patients. Lastly, the study can help pediatricians reflect on their own decision-making process, while milk companies can be guided on the best marketing strategies they can use to ensure market share.