The relationship between senior management team culture and clinical governance: empirical investigation and managerial implications

Background: Healthcare organizations are pressured to improve the cost-effectiveness of service delivery. Clinical governance is an important trigger to improve care quality and safety and rank high in the reform agenda of health systems. The senior management team culture play a major role in establishing clinical governance practices, because it strongly influences the values, attitudes and behaviors of the members of an organization. Purposes: The present study investigates the relationship between senior management team culture and clinical governance in the public healthcare organizations of three Italian regions. Methodology: The assessment of senior management culture was conducted using the Competing Values Framework and a corresponding instrument adapted for the Italian context. Clinical governance was assessed using an ad-hoc instrument focused on the senior management team’s perception and attitude toward clinical governance. Findings: The survey achieved a 54% response rate. The results of four different models demonstrate that organizations characterized by different dominant cultures are associated with significant differences in attitudes toward clinical governance. In particular, on average, dominant cultures with a prevailing external focus are associated with a more positive attitude toward clinical governance. Practice implications: The selection and appointments of top managers should consider the style of leadership that is most apt to facilitate the growth of rational and developmental cultures. Furthermore, the training of top managers and leading doctors should reinforce leadership aptitude and approaches that are consistent with the desired organizational cultures.