Diversity, entrepreneurial innovation, and performance of healthcare sector in the COVID‐19 pandemic period

• Published in: Journal of Public Affairs 2022-12, Vol.22 (S1), p.n/a
• Main Authors: El Chaarani, Hani, Raimi, Lukman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; diversity; entrepreneurial innovation; Health care; Health care industry; Health services; healthcare sector; Hospitals; Innovations; Organizational performance; Pandemics; Patient satisfaction; Patients; Private hospitals; Quality of care; Respondents; Satisfaction; Structural equation modeling; Women; Workforce; Workplace diversity; Youth
• ISSN: 1472-3891; 1479-1854
• DOI: 10.1002/pa.2808

This research explores the correlation between diversity, entrepreneurial innovation, and performance of the Lebanese healthcare sector during the COVID‐19 pandemic period. It aims to analyze the nature of the following correlations (a) the impact of workforce diversity on entrepreneurial innovation, (b) the impact of workforce diversity on performance, and (c) the impact of entrepreneurial innovation on performance. Using a cross‐sectional survey design, we collected the primary data from heterogeneous respondents including 870 patients and 261 executives leading 87 major private hospitals and other medical centers in Lebanon. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed to predict multivariate causal relationships between latent constructs and measured variables. The results of the SEM model reveal that gender diversity (GD) is a key success factor of workforce performance in the Lebanese healthcare sector since it can increase both process innovation (PI) and organizational innovation (OI) and also enhance organizational performance (OP) and patient satisfaction (PS). The results indicate that age diversity (AD) especially the presence of youth in medical centers has a positive and significant impact on organizational performance and patient satisfaction. Finally, the results of this study show that the presence of women and youth in the Lebanese healthcare sector improves entrepreneurial innovation and thus, leads to enhance the performance level and the quality of healthcare outcomes. This research provides original information that supports executive managers in the healthcare sector during crisis periods. Managerial practices and policies designed to foster diversity can improve workforce performance and the quality of medical outcomes.