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Amid increasing interest in how government regulation and market competition affect the cost and financial sustainability in health care sector, it remains unclear whether health care providers behave similarly to their counterparts in other industries. The goal of this chapter is to study the degree to which health care providers manipulate accruals in periods of financial difficulties caused, in part, by the rising costs of labor.

We collected the financial information of health care providers in 43 countries from 1984 to 2013 and conducted a pooled cross-sectional study with country and year fixed-effects.

The empirical evidence shows that health care providers with higher wage costs are more likely to smooth their earnings in order to maintain financial sustainability.

The finding of this study not only informs regulators that earnings management is pervasive in health care organizations around the world, but also contributes to the studies of financial book-tax reporting alignment, given the existing empirical evidence linking earnings management to corporate tax avoidance in this very sector.

This paper seeks to concentrate on the question whether any parallels can be found between the industrial sector and health care services with respect to the developments that have taken place in the area of Supply Chain Management. Starting from an analysis of existing literature, it is intended that different modes of Supply Chain integration will be discussed. Also, in doing so, it is intended that the lessons learned from the studies presented in this special issue will be summarized and placed into the perspective of future research that can be considered as necessary.

This paper adopted an exploratory, qualitative approach based on an analysis of existing literature in the area of Supply Chain Management in Health Services. Additionally, material from the case studies presented in this special issue is used to assess the current body of knowledge regarding Supply Chain Management in Health Services.

Starting from a classification of existing research, five main research areas with respect to Supply Chain Management in a health care setting are defined. Additionally, it is concluded that next to studies with a mono‐disciplinary focus, an interdisciplinary focus on Supply Chain Management issues in health services seems to be necessary.

This paper contributes to both the supply chain management literature and literature in the area of healthcare management by identifying some important research areas which are linked to both fields. This paper helps both academics and managers to gain a better understanding of the complexity of supply chain management in health services.

This study aims to provide a picture of the current state of art in the use of big data for decision-making processes for the management of health-care organizations.

A systematic literature review was carried out. The research uses two analyses: descriptive analysis, describing the evolution of citations; keywords; and the ten most influential papers, and bibliometric analysis, for content evaluation, for which a cluster analysis was performed.

A total of 48 articles were selected for bibliographic coupling out of an initial sample of more than 5,000 papers. Of the 48 articles, 29 are linked on the basis of their bibliography. Clustering the 29 articles on the basis of actual content, four research areas emerged: quality of care, quality of service, crisis management and data management.

Health-care organizations believe strongly that big data can become the most effective tool for correctly influencing the decision-making processes. Thus, more and more organizations continue to invest in big data analytics, and the literature on this topic has expanded rapidly. This study seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of the different streams of literature existing, together with gaps in research and future perspectives. The literature is mature enough for an analysis to be made and provide managers with useful insights on opportunities, criticisms and perspectives on the use of big data for health-care organizations. However, to date, there is no comprehensive literature review on the big data analysis in health care. Furthermore, as big data is a “sexy catchphrase,” more clarity on its usage may be needed. It represents an important tool to be investigated and its great potential is often yet to be discovered. This study thus sheds light on emerging issues and suggests further research that may be needed.

Frequent fire incidences in various hospitals across the globe with devastating effects on humans and other resources have multiplied. Stakeholders in the health-care sector are worried because of the yearly fire outbreak increase. However, fire safety management has been proved as a successful platform to mitigate fire in health-care facilities. How far regarding public health-care facilities is yet to receive in-depth studies in Malaysia. This paper aims to investigate the issues associated with fire safety management and proffers possible solutions to improve safety in public health-care facilities from the operators’ perception.

The objectives were achieved through a combination of case studies of five selected Malaysia’s public hospitals and a qualitative approach. Thematic analysis with the assistance of MAXQDA (software program designed for computer-assisted qualitative and mixed methods data) 2018, a type of qualitative data analysis software was used to analyse the collated data which emerged from the knowledgeable participants.

Lax implementation of safety policy, inadequate water pressure, poor maintenance, inadequate communication system, amongst others, emerged as the issues. Findings proffer five main measures to possibly improve fire safety management in public health-care buildings. This includes a feasible institutional framework, improve the emergency response team, improve the occupational health and safety system and others.

This paper is limited to exploring the issues associated with fire safety management and proffer possible solutions to improve safety in public health-care facilities from the operators’ perception. Future research is needed to engage useful information in advancing fire safety management in public hospital buildings and possibly developing a qualitative model using a generic fire response model. Also, to investigate the level of compliance with the requirements of a fire safety management plan and possibly develop a well-detailed fire safety plan in Malaysia’s public health-care buildings.

As part of the paper implications, the paper concludes that improved fire protection systems via modern technologies and training of key staff members in accident response and recovery during fire emergencies should be encouraged. This can be achieved through the enforcement and implementation of a fire safety management plan. Thus, this study is encouraging the implementation and sustainability of a fire safety management plan for health-care buildings across Malaysia.

To the best of this paper’s knowledge, this is possibly the first comprehensive paper on fire safety management in public health-care facilities that engaged operators in Malaysia. Moreover, this paper proffers feasible policy solutions to improve the fire safety management plan in public health-care buildings.

The purpose of this paper is to provide, first, an explication of the interconnectivity of logistics as an element of health care disaster posturing and second, to use a context of strategic‐level planning, for supply chain management's inclusion in health care emergency management planning.

Using a review of existent literature, this work examines and expounds upon the impact of effective supply chain management processes in disaster mitigation and planning.

This paper presents a discourse in health care supply chain management's involvement in disaster mitigation by clarifying the role of logistics in strategic‐level planning.

Optimally, for a health care organization to be truly prepared for disaster, leaders must first have a sound logistics platform from whence support and sustainment are received. For an organization to be truly prepared logistically, however, there must exist a basic understanding of principles related to emergency management and health care operations.

Arguably, a critical path to success in health care supply chain readiness posturing involves evidence‐based, critically applied insight into disaster mitigation and preparations across multiple echelons of managerial responsibilities.

A key recurring problem is that little research is available or related specifically to health care logistics management. Few works can be found concerning health care supply chain management's involvement in disaster posturing. In an applied sense, the paper provides health care managers with concepts related to effective crisis mitigation.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss health services managers’ experiences of management in a special health-care unit and development efforts from the point of view of the Lean method. Additionally, the aim is to deepen the knowledge of the managers’ work and nature of the Lean method development processes in the workplace. The research focuses on those aspects and results of Lean method that are currently being used in health-care environments.

These data were collected through a number of thematic interviews. The participants were nurse managers (n = 7) and medical managers (n = 7) who applied Lean management in their work at the University Hospital in the Northern Ostrobothnia Health Care District. The data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis.

A common set of values in specialized health-care services, development of activities and challenges for management in the use of the Lean manager development model to improve personal management skills.

Managers in specialized health-care services can develop and systematically manage with the help of the Lean method. This emphasizes assumptions, from the point of view of management, about systems development when the organization uses the Lean method. The research outcomes originate from specialized health-care settings in Finland in which the Lean method and its associated management principles have been implemented and applied to the delivery of health care.

The study shows that the research results and in-depth knowledge on Lean method principles can be applied to health-care management and development processes. The research also describes health services managers’ experiences of using the Lean method. In the future, these results can be used to improve Lean management skills, identify personal professional competencies and develop skills required in development processes. Also, the research findings can be used in the training of health services managers in the health-care industry worldwide and to help them survive the pressure to change repeatedly.

This study aims to investigate the mediating role of lean management on the relationship between workforce management and value-added time in private hospitals. This study also investigates the direct influences of workforce management and lean management on the value-added time of the hospitals.

This study applied a quantitative approach to obtain data from the private hospitals’ staff in Peninsular Malaysia. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 287 hospital staff using a stratified random sampling method. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was used to determine the internal consistency, reliability, validity of the constructs. The PLS-SEM method was also used to test the hypothesised research model via SmartPLS 3.3.4 version.

The findings of the study indicate that lean management has a direct and significant effect on the value-added time of private hospitals. The findings also revealed that lean management significantly mediates the relationship between workforce management and value-added time in private hospitals. The analysis of the results indicates that both workforce and lean management have a significant impact on the value-added time of the hospitals.

This study provides empirical contributions to enhance the quality of workforce management, lean management and value-added time. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into how effectively managing the workforce and providing guidelines to augment the lean management practices can ensure value-added time in Malaysian hospitals and the overall health-care industry. The lean management framework provides useful insights for the policymakers to understand the significance of workforce management, lean management on ensuring value-added time through reducing waiting times, unnecessary delays, generating a higher degree of patient safety, satisfaction and loyalty.

The research findings provide some essential indications for the health-care service providers to understand how the lean management approach can be implemented to enhance value-added time and how lean management can play a mediating role in creating a link between workforce management and value-added time in hospitals. This study also contributes to the theoretical and practical perspectives. The present study contributes to a better understanding of workforce management and lean management in health-care sectors from theoretical and practical perspectives.

Recent literature within public service logic has called for more explicit conceptualisation of customer value in public services. This study aims to fill this gap by examining how the customer value approach can be applied in the management of public health care services.

This study is a qualitative case study of management of public health care services in Finland. The authors interviewed 17 regional health care service developers and analyzed the interview data using thematic analysis.

The study suggests five propositions for applying customer value approach from the marketing literature in public health care service management. The study enables a deeper understanding of customer value creation in this context and improvement of public health care services.

This study contributes to the public management research in general and public service logic research in particular by suggesting what constitutes customer value in public health care services.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main characteristics of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) practice in health care services

The paper uses a case study approach focusing on three health care organisations in Sweden using the BSC. The focus is upon different management levels in a hierarchical branch in each organisation.

The paper concludes that the BSC is used as a tool for improving internal capabilities and supporting organisational development. More specifically, the BSC is used as a tool by management and employees in discussions, information dissemination, knowledge creation, follow‐up and reporting processes. Instead of using the BSC as a tool to implement and communicate strategy formulated by management it is used as a tool for opening up the organisation and providing a foundation for an improvement dialogue, which consequently increases the demands on management.

The paper contributes to changing the focus in existing research away from the design and construction of the BSC towards its use in managerial work.

The paper emphasises important aspects in using the BSC in a health care context that will help managers in improving performance measurements.

The paper shows that the use of the BSC includes several aspects, such as the purpose of the system, implementation process, actions taken and the expected contribution.

We hope this research volume will change the way scholars and managers think about health care management in two fundamental ways. First, we want to challenge the superficial separations between national and international health care management. To dissolve these distinctions, the “not-invented-here” or “who cares about a Belgian, Indian, or Thai medical center,” or “that won’t work in our policy system” attitudes must change. Second, we want scholars and managers to learn how to transfer innovative ideas and management practices across cultures and around policy barriers. Cultural, language, and policy differences present formidable barriers, but we believe lessons about managing human resources, informatics, quality, services, and strategies in health care organizations can be transferred.