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Aged-care work has become an extreme form of work. Anti-violence HRM, comprising practices to combat workplace violence, is important in an industry with widespread violence. In this paper, we employ social exchange theory to better understand the effect of anti-violence HRM and trust in the manager on perceived nurse and PCA cynicism working in Australian aged care facilities and their subsequent intention to leave.

This study used a mixed method with two stages. Stage 1 comprised semi-structured interviews with 10 managers and 50 nurses and PCAs working in Australian aged care facilities. Stage 2 comprised a survey of nurses and PCAs with a total of 254 completed responses in Time 1 (first wave) and 225 completed responses in Time 2 (second wave).

We tested three hypotheses and reported that interestingly anti-violence HRM was positively associated with organisational cynicism. Organisational cynicism mediated the relationship between anti-violence HRM and intention to leave. Worker trust in the manager moderated the relationship between anti-violence HRM practices and organisational cynicism, such that high levels of trust in the manager increased the effect of anti-violence HRM practices to reduce organisational cynicism and subsequently reduce intention to leave.

We find evidence that in aged care, workers' trust in their managers is critical for effectual anti-violence HRM. We argue that implementation of HRM practices may be more complex in extreme work settings. It is crucial to study HRM in situ and understand the root of social exchange(s) as a foundation for HRM to influence employee attitudes and behaviour.

Training needs analysis (TNA) refers to organisations’ data collection activities that underpin decision making, particularly in relation to whether training, can improve performance, who should receive training and training content. There are relatively few models to guide training practitioners, and the models fail to fully capture the range of factors that affect the quality of training decisions. These models are based upon a unitarist and rational view of organisational decision making, ignoring the extent to which the nature of social relationships and dynamics within organisations may influence training‐related decisions. Supporting this proposition, the article presents findings from a case study, suggesting that organisational politics as a result of self‐interest, conflict and power relations, influenced the validity of the data provided by managers and subordinates during a TNA. Presents a framework to assist practitioners in recognising when and how organisational politics may affect TNA, and attempts to map the specific political dimensions that impact on training decisions, to guide future research in the area.

This research explores perceptions of knowledge management processes held by managers and employees in a service industry. To date, empirical research on knowledge management in the service industry is sparse. This research seeks to examine absorptive capacity and its four capabilities of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation and their impact on effective knowledge management. All of these capabilities are strategies that enable external knowledge to be recognized, imported and integrated into, and further developed within the organization effectively. The research tests the relationships between absorptive capacity and effective knowledge management through analysis of quantitative data (n = 549) drawn from managers and employees in 35 residential aged care organizations in Western Australia. Responses were analysed using Partial Least Square-based Structural Equation Modelling. Additional analysis was conducted to assess if the job role (of manager or employee) and three industry context variables of profit motive, size of business and length of time the organization has been in business, impacted on the hypothesized relationships.

Structural model analysis examines the relationships between variables as hypothesized in the research framework. Analysis found that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities correlated significantly with effective knowledge management, with absorptive capacity explaining 56% of the total variability for effective knowledge management. Findings from this research also show that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities provide a useful framework for examining knowledge management in the service industry. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the perceptions held between managers and employees, nor between respondents in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Furthermore, the size of the organization and length of time the organization has been in business did not impact on absorptive capacity, the four capabilities and effective knowledge management.

The research considers implications for business in light of these findings. The role of managers in providing leadership across the knowledge management process was confirmed, as well as the importance of guiding routines and knowledge sharing throughout the organization. Further, the results indicate that within the participating organizations there are discernible differences in the way that some organizations manage their knowledge, compared to others. To achieve effective knowledge management, managers need to provide a supportive workplace culture, facilitate strong employee relationships, encourage employees to seek out new knowledge, continually engage in two-way communication with employees and provide up-to-date policies and procedures that guide employees in doing their work. The implementation of knowledge management strategies has also been shown in this research to enhance the delivery and quality of residential aged care.

A social services team manager traces the development of efforts to build better links with primary health care services, and reports on the benefits which have been observed in evaluations.

The purpose of this paper was to develop deeper insights into the practices enacted by entrepreneurial healthcare managers to enhance the implementation of a partnership logic in integrated care models for older adults.

A multiple case study design in two urban centres in two jurisdictions in Canada, Ontario and Quebec. Data collection included 65 semi-structured interviews with policymakers, managers and providers and analysis of key policy documents. The institutional entrepreneur theory provided the theoretical lens and informed a reflexive iterative data analysis.

While each case faced unique challenges, there were similarities and differences in how managers enhanced a partnership’s institutional logic. In both cases, entrepreneurial healthcare managers created new roles, negotiated mutually beneficial agreements and co-located staff to foster inter-organisational partnerships between public, private and community organisations in the continuum of care for older adults. In addition, managers in Ontario secured additional funding, while managers in Quebec organised biannual meetings and joint training to enhance inter-organisational partnerships.

This study has two main implications. First, efforts to enhance inter-organisational partnerships should strategically include institutional entrepreneurs. Second, successful institutional changes may be supported by investing in integrated implementation strategies that target roles of staff, co-location and inter-organisational agreements.

In the implementation of integrated care, the role of managers is important and their mutual collaboration should be addressed more visibly. The purpose of this study was to investigate how cross-boundary collaboration is constructed in the discourse of middle-level managers in health and social care.

The study was based on a discursive approach. Group discussions with three groups of Finnish middle managers (n = 39) were analyzed using discourse analysis.

Five ways of talking about cross-boundary collaboration were identified, labeled “ideal”, “structure”, “defence”, “money” and “support” discourses. In the ideal discourse, cross-boundary collaboration appeared as a “good thing” and is self-evident. Structural discourse defined managers as passive actors in self-sustaining entities. Defensive discourse highlighted the problems of cross-boundary collaboration and the hierarchy within the health and social sectors. Financial discourse constituted the ultimate obstacle to successful cross-boundary collaboration, and both strengthened and explained defensive discourse. Supportive discourse portrayed other managers as partners and as an important resource.

Cross-boundary collaboration can be experienced as a resource, helping managers cope with their workload. However, identification of and continuous attention to challenges at macro, meso and micro levels of integrated care is crucial for successful collaboration. Thus, critical discussion of collaboration needs to be given space.

The study design and discursive approach highlights the power of language and give voice to middle managers who are key actors when implementing integrated care.

This study aims to explore nursing home and home care managers’ strategies in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study has a qualitative design with semistructured individual interviews conducted digitally by videophone (Zoom). Eight managers from nursing homes and five managers from home care services located in a large urban municipality in eastern Norway participated. Systematic text condensation methodology was used for the analysis.

The managers used several strategies to handle challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including being proactive and thinking ahead in terms of possible scenarios that might occur, continuously training of staff in new procedures and routines and systematic information sharing at all levels, as well as providing different ways of disseminating information for staff, service users and next-of-kins. To handle staffing challenges, managers used strategies such as hiring short-term staff that were temporary laid off from other industries and bringing in students.

The COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected health-care systems worldwide, which has led to many health-care studies. The situation in nursing homes and home care services, which were strongly impacted by the pandemic and in charge of a vulnerable group of people, has not yet received enough attention in research. This study, therefore, seeks to contribute to this research gap by investigating how managers in nursing homes and home care services used different strategies to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aims to deepen the understanding of how top managers reason about handling the relationships between quality of patient care, economy and professionals’ engagement.

Qualitative design. Individual in-depth interviews with all members of the executive management team at an emergency hospital in Norway were analysed using reflexive thematic method.

The top managers had the intention to balance between quality of patient care, economy and professionals’ engagement. This became increasingly difficult in times of high internal or external pressures. Then top management acted as if economy was the most important focus.

For health-care top managers to lead the pursuit towards increased sustainability in health care, there is a need to balance between quality of patient care, economy and professionals’ engagement. This study shows that this balancing act is not an anomaly top-managers can eradicate. Instead, they need to recognize, accept and deliberately act with that in mind, which can create virtuous development spirals where managers and health-professional communicate and collaborate, benefitting quality of patient care, economy and professionals’ engagement. However, this study builds on a limited number of participants. More research is needed.

Sustainable health care needs to balance quality of patient care and economy while at the same time ensure professionals’ engagement. Even though this is a central leadership task for managers at all levels, there is limited knowledge about how top managers reason about this.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating or contingent effect of organizational culture on the relationship between the personality and managerial competencies of primary care managers in Thailand.

A survey involving distribution of questionnaires to 358 rural primary care managers in southern Thailand was conducted. Self‐reported measures on personality, managerial competency and organizational culture constructs, adopted from previous research, were employed. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical multiple regressions were used for data analysis.

Humanistic, prescriptive, and leadership culture moderated significantly the relationship between conscientiousness and specific dimensions of managerial competency, i.e. partnership, collaboration, and visionary leadership. In particular, the study found that managers seemed to be demonstrating the highest level of such competencies when they scored high on conscientiousness and worked in an environment that emphasizes a high humanistic culture, high leadership culture, and low prescriptive culture.

The findings may be generalizable to any people working in primary care who have a responsibility to engage people in their own care. Further research could be done in other countries to see whether this conclusion is in fact correct. It would also be useful to research whether the findings apply to other health and social areas.

Specific personality traits have an influence on managerial competency within certain organizational cultures. A humanistic and leadership culture should be fostered in primary health care units. Focusing on developing conscientiousness in managers should not be overlooked. Relevant training development programs may be important.

This study argues that the effects of personality on managerial competency are moderated by organizational culture. The findings will be useful to policy makers and those responsible in human development, particularly, health care managers.