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Rural hospital administrators and strategic management activities
S S Mick1, L L Morlock, D Salkever
1Department of Health Services Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109.
Hospital & Health Services Administration
|October 1, 1993
Summary
Rural hospital administrator turnover positively impacts strategic activity adoption. Other administrator characteristics, like age or affiliations, showed no significant association with strategic adaptation in this study.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Organizational Behavior
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Strategic adaptation is crucial for rural hospitals facing unique environmental pressures.
- Understanding the role of hospital administrators in driving organizational change is essential for effective healthcare policy.
- Previous research has explored factors influencing strategic adoption, but the specific impact of administrator characteristics in rural settings requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between characteristics of rural hospital administrators and the adoption of strategic activities.
- To test hypotheses relating head administrator traits to strategic adaptation, controlling for environmental and hospital-specific variables.
- To identify which administrator characteristics predict strategic adaptation in U.S. rural hospitals.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a national sample of 797 U.S. rural hospitals from 1983-1988.
- Bivariate analysis to explore initial associations between administrator characteristics and strategic adoption.
- Multivariate logistic regression to assess the predictive power of administrator characteristics on strategic activities, while controlling for other variables.
Main Results:
- High levels of administrative turnover were significantly associated with the adoption of strategic activities.
- Administrative turnover showed a positive association with strategic adoption in bivariate analysis.
- Head administrator age was negatively associated with strategic adoption in bivariate analysis, but this did not hold in multivariate analysis.
Conclusions:
- Administrative turnover emerges as a key factor influencing strategic adaptation in rural hospitals.
- Other administrator characteristics, including affiliation with the American College of Healthcare Executives, did not demonstrate predictive power for strategic activities.
- Findings suggest a need to consider administrator turnover within "strategic management policy" for rural hospitals to foster organizational change.