EFFECT OF HOSPITAL QUALITY PROGRAM TYPES, DESIGN FACTORS, ANDHUMAN RESOURCE FACTORS ON PROGRAM RESULTS AND COMPETITIVEADVANTAGE: A DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES MODEL STUDY

摘要

This exploratory study examines health care quality program types, design practices, humanresource management (HRM) practices, and perceived results and competitive advantage bysurveying the directors of Hospital quality programs. Hospitals in the U. S. are renowned to beamong the highest in the quality of health care, but a recent Institute of Medicine study reported58 percent of the 98,000 U. S. error-related deaths per year are preventable. Continuous QualityImprovement (CQI) and Six Sigma programs appear to be well suited to address the currentcrisis for health care organizations. Although most hospitals have implemented CQI programs,several Six Sigma programs have been championed recently by several dozen hospitals.However, program success could depend on the type, design and HRM practices of the healthcare system. The dynamic capabilities theory of the firm predicts key characteristics crucial forsustainable competitive advantage. Most current research has focused on case studies ofsuccessful programs at only a few health care organizations. This study used an e-mail surveywhich produced responses for the Quality or Risk Director of 144 U. S. hospitals. The results ofFactor and Regression Analyses demonstrate significant effects of different program types,design practices, and HRM practices on the success of quality programs for health careorganizations.