Public Perception of Massage Therapy

Massage therapy, as a service, is susceptible to churn for its misconceived efficiency and practice. However, therapists andmassage businesses could frame messages that highlight, for instance, their service proficiency or price promotions on thepublic’s perception of massage to overcome such misconception. We tested this prediction in two studies. In study 1 (n = 1,925),we distinguished four groups of individuals by their massage perception (positive, negative) and whether they had everreceived a massage (yes, no). In study 2 (n = 1,209), we observed the four types of people that study 1 determined to comparethe influences of a service expert and discount on their perceptions of massage therapy in a 2 (therapist: expert, nonexpert) x 2(discount: yes, no) Solomon four-group experiment. There is evidence that positive perception is prone to service expert amongthose who had received a massage before. Those who experienced massage service for the first time, however, were prone to abargain. Despite their lack of practical experience, these results imply that inexperienced and emerging therapists (e.g., studentson practicum, interns) could help a massage business create customers when their imperfect services are bundled with aneconomic incentive. An expert therapist could, then, convert the initially discount-prone receivers of massage into qualityprone repeating customers and justify a price premium.

PDF

___

1. Eisenberg DM. Advising patients who seek alternative medical therapies. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1997; 127(1): 61-69.
2. Shrimpton W [Internet]. Massage Therapist Jailed over 20 Indecent Assaults [cited 2020 Mar 29]. Available from: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/newzealand/2018/01/massage-therapist-sentenced-over-14- indecent-assaults.html.
3. Smith DM, Smith JM, Baxter D, Spronken-Smith R. The drive for legitimation of massage therapy in New Zealand. International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. 2012; 5(4): 21-29.
4. Collinge W, MacDonald G, Walton T. Massage in supportive cancer care. Seminars in Oncology Nursing. 2012; 28(1): 45-54.
5. Dion LZ, Engen DJ, Lemaine V, Lawson DK, Brock CG, Thomley BS, Cha SS, Sood A, Bauer BA, Wahner-Roedler DL. Massage therapy alone and in combination with meditation for breast cancer patients undergoing autologous tissue reconstruction: a randomized pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2016; 23(May): 82-87.
6. Lee S-H, Kim J-Y, Yeo S, Kim S-H, Lim S. Meta-analysis of massage therapy on cancer pain. Integrative Cancer Therapies. 2015; 14(4): 297-304.
7. Barton DL, Pachman DR. Clinical trials in integrative therapies. Semininars in Oncology Nursing. 2012; 28(1):10-28.
8. Chang M-Y, Wang S-Y, Chen C-H. Effects of massage on pain and anxiety during labour: a randomized controlled trial in Taiwan. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2002; 38(1): 68-73.
9. Robinson JG, Smith CL. Therapeutic massage during chemotherapy and/or biotherapy infusions: patients perceptions of pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, and satisfaction. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. 2016; 20(2): E34-40.
10. Boulanger TK, Moyer CA. Attitudes, beliefs, and expectations in massage therapy. In: Dreyden T, Moyer CA, editors. Massage therapy: integrating research and practice. Campaign: Human Kinetics; 2012. p. 265-272.
11. Cottingham P, Adams J, Vempati R, Sibbritt D. The characteristics, experiences and perceptions of registered massage therapists in New Zealand: results from a national survey of practitioners. International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. 2018; 11(2): 11-24.
12. Kretchy IA, Okere HA, Osafo J, Afrane B, Sarkodie J, Debrah P. Perceptions of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine among conventional healthcare practitioners in Accra, Ghana: implications for integrative healthcare. Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2016; 14(5): 380-388.
13. Lawler SP, Cameron LD. Massage therapy: attitudes and use among general practitioners and patients in Auckland. New Zealand Family Physician. 2004; 31(4): 229-238.
14. Brolinson PG, Price JH, Ditmyer M, Reis D. Nurses' perceptions of complementary and alternative medical therapies. Journal of Community Health. 2001; 26(3): 175-189.
15. Mehta BH, Hartels LH, Hefner JL, Porter K, Klatt MD. Assessment of attitudes and perceptions about complementary and alternative medicines by health professional faculty. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 2016; 8(6): 788-795.
16. Awad A, Al-Ajmi S, Waheedi M. Knowledge, perceptions and attitudes toward complementary and alternative therapies among Kuwaiti medical and pharmacy students. Medical Principles and Practice. 2012; 21(4): 350-354.
17. Smith JM, Sullivan SJ, Baxter GD. A descriptive study of the practice patterns of Massage New Zealand massage therapists. International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. 2011; 4(1): 18-27.
18. Stats NZ - Taturanga Aotearoa [Internet]. Consumers Price Index Review: 2017 (Revised) [cited 2020 Mar 30]. Available from: https://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/consumers-priceindex-review-2017-revised.
19. Parasuraman A, Zeithaml VA, Berry LL. A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing. 1985; 49(4): 41-50.
20. Fishbein M, Ajzen I. Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley; 1980.
21. Rabin M. Risk aversion and expected-utility theory: a calibration theorem. In: MacLean LC, Ziemba WT, editors. Handbook of the fundamentals of financial decision-making: part II. Singapore: World Scientific; 2013. p. 241-252.
22. Klein NH, Oglethorpe JE. Cognitive reference points in consumer decision making. Advances in Consumer Research. 1987; 14: 183-187.
23. Hubert M, Kenning P. A current overview of consumer neuroscience. Journal of Consumer Behavior. 2008; 7(4-5): 272-292.
24. Braver MW, Braver SL. Statistical treatment of the Solomon four-group design: a meta-analytic approach. Psychological Bulletin. 1988; 104(1): 150-154.
25. Solomon RL. An extension of control group design. Psychological Bulletin. 1949; 46(2): 137-150.
26. Grönroos C. A service quality model and its marketing implications. European Journal of Marketing. 1984; 18(4): 36- 44.
27. Babakus E, Mangold WG. Adapting the SERVQUAL scale to hospital services: an empirical investigation. Health Services Research. 1992; 26(6): 767-786.