Prescription loyalty behavior of physicians: an empirical study in India

Purpose - This paper seeks to empirically identify the major factors that influence physician loyalty behavior in prescribing certain brands of drugs.Design methodology approach - Testable hypotheses were developed with respect to physician loyalty behavior regarding drug prescription practices, and a survey questionnaire was designed to capture the data from 71 physicians, as a convenience sample. The hypotheses were tested by PLS path modeling.Findings - The major finding is that tangible rewards to physicians by the pharmaceutical companies lead to prescription loyalty. The second major finding is that the professional values of pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSR) impact significantly on physician prescription loyalty. The hypotheses related to the impact of PSR personality, drug quality, corporate reputation and professional influence on prescription loyalty were not supported in the study.Practical implications - The results should prove useful to pharmaceutical companies in developing physician loyalty to particular brands as well as enhancing the understanding of drug control authorities and governmental health policy makers, in controlling unethical medical practices by physicians.Originality value - This paper reports an original empirical study on physician loyalty behavior in the context of drug prescription.