Linking Quality Improvement Practices to Knowledge Management Capabilities

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which quality improvement initiatives (continuous quality improvement and Six Sigma) depend on knowledge management for realizing positive patient safety learning outcomes. Drawing on the knowledge management and quality management literature, this paper develops a path model for improving patient safety learning. Survey data were collected from a sample of 273 U.S. hospitals. Results indicate that a three-stage knowledge management process mediates the relationship between quality improvement initiatives and patient safety learning. While continuous quality improvement was found to also have a direct positive association with patient safety learning, Six Sigma did not demonstrate a statistically significant direct relationship to patient safety. The authors' results provide new insight into the relationship of knowledge management capabilities and quality initiatives in healthcare. Hospitals are looking for evidence to help justify expenditures on various programs and also seek to identify ways to improve patient safety. The pragmatic contribution of this study for healthcare administrators lies in the application of these findings in planning quality management systems and knowledge management processes. The results contribute to the operations management literature by addressing how quality management initiatives in hospital organizations link to patient safety learning outcomes directly as well as via knowledge management capabilities. The interrelationships have not been adequately explored and limited research discusses the effectiveness of a three-stage knowledge management process in healthcare.

• CQI
• healthcare
• knowledge management
• patient safety
• Six Sigma

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kathleen L. McFadden

Kathleen L. McFadden is a professor of operations management at Northern Illinois University. Her research interests are in the area of healthcare operations, aviation safety, quality management, and process improvement. Her research has been published in a number of academic journals including the Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Production Economics, Quality Management Journal, and Health Care Management Review. She has worked as a consultant and contract researcher for the Federal Aviation Administration, and has served as an expert witness. McFadden can be reached at [email protected].

Jung Young Lee

Jung Young Lee is an assistant professor of operations management at Northern Illinois University. Her research interests include product and process innovation, supply chain management, supplier selection, knowledge management, and quality management. Her research has been published in top-tier academic journals including the Production and Operations Management and International Journal of Production Research. Young Lee can be reached at [email protected].

Charles R. Gowen

Charles R. Gowen III is a professor of management in the College of Business at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. His current research interests are in quality, healthcare, and strategic management. He has published in several leading journals, such as the Journal of Operations Management, Quality Management Journal, American Journal of Business, Journal of Equipment Lease Financing, International Journal of Production Research, Health Care Management Review, Journal of Healthcare Management, International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Management Development, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, and Journal of High Technology Management Research, and presented papers at numerous national and international conferences. He has worked in operations management at Eastman Kodak Company, in commercial credit at Bank One (now JPMorgan Chase), and in consulting for Fortune 100 companies. Gowen can be contacted at [email protected].

Barton M. Sharp

Barton M. Sharp is an assistant professor of management at Northern Illinois University, having received his doctorate in strategic management from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. His research interests lie in organizational innovation, corporate strategy, and the intersection of those fields, as well as in research methods. His research has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Management, Organizational Research Methods, and the Journal of Business Research. Sharp can be reached at [email protected].