Ozlem Akcay Kasapoglu
Istanbul University, Turkey
Title: The role of development culture in total quality management in public vs. Private hospitals: The mediating effect of employee empowerment type
Biography
Biography: Ozlem Akcay Kasapoglu
Abstract
Total quality management practices have gained importance in the healthcare field with the adoption of a customer-oriented approach due to increasing global competition. Such practices require several factors in order to achieve success. Among others, employee empowerment is known as a critical success factor in the implementation of a total quality management practice since such practice requires changes in attitudes and actions. In this context, development culture that focuses especially on innovation and adaptation is likely to increase the success of a total quality management program. In light of this background, the present paper aims to explore the role of development culture in total quality management and to reveal the mediating effect of employee empowerment on the development culture and total quality management relationship. For this purpose, the study sample included 510 participants who were working at public and private hospitals within Istanbul, Turkey. The study data were collected using Total Quality Management Scale, Development Culture Scale and Employee Empowerment Scale.. The study results indicated that development culture has a positive effect on total quality management both in public and private hospitals and employee empowerment partially mediates this relationship in both types of hospitals. Additionally, our study also revealed that the positive effect of a development culture on employee empowerment was stronger in public hospitals compared to private hospitals. Besides, employee empowerment was found to have a greater impact on total quality management in public hospitals compared to private hospitals.