Research Projects

Organisational culture and health care performance

Researchers

Huw Davies, Professor of Health Care Policy & Management, Director of Centre for Public Policy & Management (University of St Andrews), and Associate Director of Social Dimensions of Health Institute (Universities of Dundee and St Andrews),
Russell Mannion (York),
Martin Marshall (Manchester),
Tim Scott (York)

Background

This project is a three-University collaboration (St Andrews, York and Manchester) examining the nature and impact of organisational cultures in hospitals and primary care centres.

Aims of Study

Methods of Working

We examined quantitative associations between senior management team culture and hospital performance in large sample of acute hospital organisations in the English NHS (197 organisations; 899 individuals). In-depth case studies in 12 organisations (six in primary care and six in acute settings) provided additional depth.

Conclusions

This study provides important new evidence that different organisational culture types may be more or less able to perform, depending on those aspects of performance that are valued within that culture.

Implications for Policy

These findings clearly suggest that organisational culture matters in the delivery of high performance in health care; they even go some way towards suggesting which sorts of cultures might be expected to enhance which aspects of performance.

Funding

This project is funded by the Department of Health (London)