Digital engagement and healthcare service selection: Insights into young consumers decision-making in the digital era

Siwi Dyah Ratnasari (Department of Management, Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi Malangkuçeçwara, Malang Master of Hospital Management Program, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang)
Tita Hariyanti (Master of Hospital Management Program, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang)
Pardiman Pardiman (Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Islam Malang, Malang)
Nevi Danila (Department of Finance, College of Business Administration, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh)

JEMA: Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang Akuntansi dan Manajemen
Vol. 23 No. 1 (2026): JEMA: Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang Akuntansi dan Manajemen

Digital transformation has fundamentally changed how young healthcare consumers select hospitals, shifting decision-making beyond clinical quality toward digitally mediated experiences. Despite the rapid digitalization of healthcare services, limited research explains how digital engagement and experiential value jointly shape hospital choice from a service marketing perspective. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study analyzed in-depth interviews with 11 young healthcare consumers in a medium-sized Indonesian city. Five determinants emerged: digital visibility, online interaction quality, facility comfort, patient reviews, and perceived emotional value. The findings demonstrate that digital touchpoints and experiential value play a central role in hospital choice. This study extends consumer behavior and service marketing literature by integrating digital engagement and emotional value into hospital choice behavior. Although the findings are context-specific, they offer strategic insights for healthcare organizations to strengthen competitiveness through digitally integrated, patient-centered marketing strategies that enhance engagement, trust, and long-term loyalty.