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1 – 10 of over 28000Sineenart Krichanchai and Bart L. MacCarthy
The purpose of this paper is to investigate vendor managed inventory (VMI) for the supply of medicines between distributors and hospitals to identify factors that may affect VMI…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate vendor managed inventory (VMI) for the supply of medicines between distributors and hospitals to identify factors that may affect VMI adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
Two contrasting VMI initiatives involving five organizations (three hospitals, one distributor and one manufacturer/supplier) are studied. A case study method with semi-structured interviews is used with triangulation in data collection, site visits and document analysis to enhance reliability and validity. The cases are analyzed and compared with respect to hospital, supplier, product and supply chain integration characteristics.
Findings
A successful public sector VMI initiative and an unsuccessful private sector VMI initiative are identified. The public sector supplier focuses on improving service level while the private sector supplier seeks to strengthen relationships with a key customer. Hospital characteristics, including type of hospital, top management perspectives and the hospital’s willingness to share information, are critical in decisions on VMI initiation or termination. Relatively stable demand products are preferred for a VMI approach. Hospitals may perceive risks in VMI adoption for medicines as it involves relinquishing control of critical supplies and may result in “lock-in” with a particular supplier.
Research limitations/implications
The cases have been conducted in one country, which may affect generalization of the findings. Wider empirical evidence from other countries in both developed and less developed regions will be beneficial.
Practical implications
VMI is advocated as being beneficial in many supply contexts. However, it is challenging to implement. The study identifies factors that affect the adoption of VMI for hospital pharmaceuticals and provides guidance on initiating VMI in a hospital context.
Social implications
The potential for VMI in public health projects to enable greater access to critical medicines is highlighted.
Originality/value
The paper provides supply side and demand side perspectives on VMI adoption in an important sector. It highlights the need for greater understanding of the perceived and actual risks in VMI from the perspective of both the hospital and the supplier and for much clearer advice on which pharmaceutical products are appropriate for VMI control in a hospital context.
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The purpose of this research is to explore the differences across hospital characteristics (i.e. lean maturity, hospital size, hospital type and ISO 9001) on lean expectation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore the differences across hospital characteristics (i.e. lean maturity, hospital size, hospital type and ISO 9001) on lean expectation, lean performance, service quality expectation and service quality performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey instruments were developed from an extensive literature review, validated by experts and tested by statistical techniques. Data was collected from the perspective of care providers in 220 outpatient departments of Thai hospitals with multiple respondents to improve reliability of data. Analysis of variance and independent sample t test were applied for analysis.
Findings
It was found that there are significant differences across lean maturity and hospital size on overall lean expectation and overall lean performance, and across ISO 9001 on overall service quality performance. Overall, service quality expectation and performance have higher mean scores than overall lean expectation and performance.
Originality/value
To the best of author’s knowledge, this is one of the first studies to present insights into the links between Thai hospital characteristics, expected lean and service quality and performance from the care provider viewpoint. Findings form this study can be used to improve individual hospitals or develop healthcare system at national level.
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Maik Lachmann, Thorsten Knauer and Rouven Trapp
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the use of strategic management accounting (SMA) techniques in hospitals under competitive market environments. The paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the use of strategic management accounting (SMA) techniques in hospitals under competitive market environments. The paper analyses the dissemination of SMA techniques in consideration of structural characteristics and perform a cluster analysis in order to investigate performance differences between various groups of hospitals.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper collected empirical data in a nationwide survey of German general hospitals. Analyses are based on questionnaires from 116 hospitals.
Findings
Results show that strategies are applied and regularly adjusted in most hospitals. However, SMA techniques are not in widespread use. The paper explores performance differences between the clusters comprised. The paper finds evidence that the use of SMA techniques varies among hospitals based on their structural characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
The authors' exploratory analysis suggest that further study exploring both the determinants and effects of the use of SMA techniques in hospitals represents an interesting path for future research. This study is subject to limitations, particularly concerning the limited number of contextual variables and performance measures taken into consideration.
Practical implications
Considering the limited use of SMA techniques, this paper conclude that hospitals should consider the adoption of additional practices. The paper identifies particular potential for development in the areas of risk management and capital budgeting methods.
Originality/value
This study provides the first comprehensive overview of SMA techniques used in hospitals and advances the literature, which primarily includes case study evidence on single SMA techniques or analyses of the impact of strategies and health reforms on “conventional” management accounting practices. This paper, then, constitutes a useful starting point for further research on SMA practices in hospitals.
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– The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of health-care governance and ownership structure on the performance of hospitals in Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of health-care governance and ownership structure on the performance of hospitals in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses multiple regression models based on a sample of 132 hospitals in Ghana.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that hospitals with a governing board perform better than those without a governing board. The results of this study also suggest that board characteristics and ownership structure are important in explaining the performance of hospitals in Ghana. The results further indicate that mission-based and private hospitals with effective board governance structures exhibit better performance than public hospitals.
Originality/value
This study makes a number of new and meaningful contributions to the extant literature and the findings support managerialism, stakeholder and resource dependency theories. The findings also have important implications for the effective governance of hospitals.
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Melissa Intindola, Sean Rogers, Carol Flinchbaugh and Doug Della Pietra
The purpose of this paper is to explore the links between various characteristics of hospital administration and the utilization of classes of volunteer resource management (VRM…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the links between various characteristics of hospital administration and the utilization of classes of volunteer resource management (VRM) practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses original data collected via surveys of volunteer directors in 122 hospitals in five Northeastern and Southern US states.
Findings
Structural equation modeling results suggest that number of paid volunteer management staff, scope of responsibility of the primary volunteer administrator, and hospital size are positively associated with increased usage of certain VRM practices.
Research limitations/implications
First, the authors begin the exploration of VRM antecedents, and encourage others to continue this line of inquiry; and second, the authors assess dimensionality of practices, allowing future researchers to consider whether specific dimensions have a differential impact on key individual and organizational outcomes.
Practical implications
Based on the findings of a relationship between administrative characteristics and the on-the-ground execution of VRM practice, a baseline audit comparing current practices to those VRM practices presented here might be useful in determining what next steps may be taken to focus investments in VRM that can ultimately drive practice utilization.
Originality/value
The exploration of the dimensionality of volunteer management adds a novel perspective to both the academic study, and practice, of volunteer management. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical categorization of VRM practices.
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Katariina Silander, Paulus Torkki, Paul Lillrank, Antti Peltokorpi, Saara A. Brax and Minna Kaila
Modularity promises to relieve problems of complexity in service systems. However, limited evidence exists of its application in specialized hospital services. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Modularity promises to relieve problems of complexity in service systems. However, limited evidence exists of its application in specialized hospital services. The purpose of this paper is to identify enablers, constraints, and outcomes of modularization in specialized hospital services.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative comparative study of a hematology unit with modular service architecture and an oncology unit with integral service architecture in a university hospital is performed to analyze the service architectures, enablers and constraints of modularization, and outcomes.
Findings
A framework and five propositions combining the characteristics of specialized hospital services, enabling activities, and outcomes of modularization were developed. Modular service architecture was developed through limiting the number of treatment components, reorganizing production of standardized components into a separate service unit, and standardizing communication and scheduling in interfaces. Modularization increased service efficiency but diluted ownership of services, decreased customization, and diminished informal communication. This is explained by the specific characteristics of the services: fragmented service delivery, professional autonomy, hierarchy, information asymmetry, and requirement to treat all.
Research limitations/implications
Modularization can increase efficiency in specialized hospital services. However, specific characteristics of specialized care may challenge its application and limit its outcomes.
Practical implications
The study identifies enabling activities and constraints that hospital managers should take into account when developing modular service systems.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical study exploring the enablers, constraints, and outcomes of modularization in specialized hospital services. The study complements literature on service modularity with reference to specialized hospital services.
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Marie‐Pierre Gagnon, Lise Lamothe, Jean‐Paul Fortin, Alain Cloutier, Gaston Godin, Camille Gagné and Daniel Reinharz
The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of hospitals’ organisational characteristics on telehealth adoption by health‐care centres involved in the extended…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of hospitals’ organisational characteristics on telehealth adoption by health‐care centres involved in the extended telehealth network of Quebec (French acronym RQTE)
Design/methodology/approach
The article is based on a review of the literature and a questionnaire, which was administered via telephone interviews to the 32 hospitals involved in the Extended Telehealth Network of Quebec. Contingency analyses were performed to determine which organisational factors have influenced telehealth adoption. Subsequently, a multiple case study was conducted among nine hospitals representative of different categories of telehealth adopters. In‐depth interviews with various actors involved in telehealth activities have permitted a deepening of one's understanding of the impact of clinical and administrative contexts on telehealth adoption.
Findings
The results from both the questionnaire and interviews support the observation made by Whitten and Adams in 2003 that telehealth programs are not isolated, but located within larger health organisations. Moreover, health‐care organisations are also positioned in a larger geographical, economical and socio‐political environment. Therefore, it is important to investigate the context in which telehealth projects are taking place prior to experimentation.
Originality/value
This study has highlighted the relevance of considering the characteristics and the dynamics of health‐care organisations at each stage of telehealth implementation in order to take their specific needs into account.
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Most prior studies investigating determinants of CEO compensation in nonprofit hospitals ignore how managerial ability affects compensation. This study aims to examine whether…
Abstract
Purpose
Most prior studies investigating determinants of CEO compensation in nonprofit hospitals ignore how managerial ability affects compensation. This study aims to examine whether CEOs with greater ability to manage corporate resources efficiently receive more payment in nonprofit hospitals.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a sample of 764 observations from 85 Pennsylvania nonprofit hospitals for the period 2010–2020.
Findings
This study finds a positive and statistically significant association between managerial ability and CEO compensation. The results are robust to alternative measures of managerial ability.
Practical implications
The measure of managerial ability proposed in this study could be used by boards of directors to quantify, evaluate and benchmark CEO ability. The results are also relevant to policymakers, stakeholders and the public interested in understanding the determinants of CEO compensation in nonprofits.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to use a more precise measure of managerial ability, which captures the unobserved manager-specific aspects of CEO ability. In addition, this study contributes to the literature by providing evidence that CEO's ability to manage hospital resources efficiently plays an essential role in designing executive compensation contracts.
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Vedran Capkun, Martin Messner and Clemens Rissbacher
The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between service specialization and operational performance in hospitals. Existing literature has mostly been concerned with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between service specialization and operational performance in hospitals. Existing literature has mostly been concerned with the performance effects of operational focus, which can be seen as an extreme form of specialization. It is not clear, however, whether an effect similar to the focus effect can be observed also in cases where specialization takes on less extreme forms. The authors analyze this effect up to and above the effects of volume, learning and patient selection.
Design/methodology/approach
Ordinary least squares (OLS) and two‐stage regression models were used to analyze patient data from 142 Austrian hospitals over the 2002‐2006 period. The sample contains 322,193 patient groups (841,687 patient group‐year observations).
Findings
The authors find that increased specialization in a service leads to a more efficient provision of this service in terms of shorter length of stay. The analysis shows that this effect holds even after controlling for volume, learning, and patient selection effects. The authors suggest that the pure specialization effect is due to the increased administrative and medical attention that is given to a service when the relative importance of that service increases.
Practical implications
The paper's results indicate hospital managers should pay attention to the impact of specialization when making service‐mix decisions. If two services have the same or a similar level of operational performance, then this does not mean that hospital managers should be indifferent as to the relative volume of these services.
Originality/value
The paper provides additional insights into the impact of service‐level specialization not examined in prior literature.
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The issue of gender diversity on hospital boards plays a significant role in the financial health and clinical performance of hospitals. The purpose of this paper is to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
The issue of gender diversity on hospital boards plays a significant role in the financial health and clinical performance of hospitals. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of gender diversity of hospital boards in Ghana. Specifically, this study examined the proportion of females on hospital boards and considered how hospital-level characteristics such as hospital size, age, location and ownership structure explain the board gender diversity of hospital boards in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach based on 100 hospitals was used.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that women are represented on all hospitals with governing boards but with different proportions depending on ownership form. In all, women represent less than half of board membership. Smaller and older hospitals were found to have more female representation on their board. Also, not-for-profit mission and for-profit private hospitals tend to engage more females than their counterpart public hospitals.
Research limitations/implications
The study examined female representation on hospital boards depending on only hospital-level characteristics such as hospital size, age, location and ownership. Other factors could be determining the appointment of females on hospital boards other than hospital characteristics.
Social implications
Efforts on improving the role of women on hospital boards need to be encouraged.
Originality/value
Evidence from this study clearly suggests underrepresentation of women in the top echelons of hospitals owned by government or the state, bigger and newer hospitals.
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