Vulnerability in in-vitro fertilisation transformative services: an interplay of individual and institutional factors

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the factors driving and mitigating the experienced vulnerabilities of women undergoing the transformative service of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), and how this influences women’s evaluations and intentions. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual framework was tested using quantitative data collected via an online survey of Australian women who have undergone IVF treatment. Hayes’ PROCESS macro was used to analyse the data. Findings The results indicate that women’s persistent goal-striving alongside their perceived personal sacrifices influence the association between their need for parenthood and their experienced vulnerability. Institutional factors such as IVF clinic technical and interpersonal quality influence these consumers’ IVF experience evaluations and word-of-mouth (WoM) intentions. Research limitations/implications This study’s results are limited to women who are undergoing IVF treatment. Further empirical work is needed to deepen the understanding of the role played by partners and other family members in women’s IVF experiences. Practical implications IVF clinics can reduce women’s experienced vulnerability by encouraging women who have a good probability of succeeding to persist in the pursuit of the goal of conceiving a child via IVF. This can be achieved by enabling and empowering them so that they give themselves the best chance during treatment, thus facilitating their control. Managing the expectations of those women with a lower probability of success is also recommended. The importance of the technical and interpersonal quality delivered by IVF clinics in influencing the positive evaluations and behavioural intentions of women experiencing vulnerabilities is further highlighted. Originality/value This study contributes to the transformative service research literature by: examining the IVF transformative experience, which has been largely overlooked; focussing on the intersection of transformative services and consumers experiencing vulnerability, which is an emerging research area; and testing a framework quantitatively that intermingles individual and institutional factors as antecedents and consequences of consumers’ experienced vulnerabilities, advancing the existing conceptual and qualitative work.

A systematic literature review on transformative practices and well-being outcomes in healthcare service

“…, 2019; Zayer et al. , 2015) and, in this picture, healthcare service provider behavior can mitigate vulnerability by helping patients and families feel in control with positive benefits on their well-being (Robertson et al. , 2021).…”

#infertility: how patients can benefit from the public discussion of conversational taboos on social media

“…First, we contribute to the field of infertility-related services and consumer research. Like, for instance, Robertson et al (2021), we take a consumer perspective and focus on patient well-being. More specifically, we present public social media content as a promising opportunity to enhance patient well-being in various respects, particularly by satisfying individual patient needs and pushing forward de-tabooing.…”

“…Additionally, several studies in this field consider a consumer’s perspective. For instance, researchers have investigated patients’ needs for education and support (Wingert et al , 2005), their persistence and how they cope with failures (Fischer et al , 2007; Zayer et al , 2015), their vulnerability (Gezinski et al , 2017; Robertson et al , 2021; Takhar and Pemberton, 2019) and their processing of experiences in memoirs (Takhar, 2021). However, although extant literature sheds light on diverse facets of reproductive medicine, Takhar and Houston (2021) conclude, based on a recent review of the evolution of fertility treatment and its meaning for marketing scholarship, that the topic remains underexplored.…”

Refugee awareness of a transformative intervention to increase blood donations

“…The 454 African migrants recruited for participation represent a subset of refugees, engaged in involuntary or forced migration ( n = 190), comparable to the sample in Polonsky et al ’s (2018) study, and other quantitative TSR studies on hard-to-reach groups (Beatson et al , 2020; Robertson et al , 2021). We excluded 38 refugees who previously had given blood, in line with the transformative goal of determining how to facilitate refugees’ participation in Australian blood donation among those who have not previously participated in blood donation, as Polonsky et al (2018) identified that this influenced respondents’ views of the donation process.…”