ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of Lean and Six Sigma initiatives on continuous quality improvement in the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH) accredited hospitals. In particular, it investigates the relationship between top management support and teamwork. It also examines the influence of teamwork on Lean and Six Sigma initiatives. In this study, 450 survey questionnaires were distributed to twelve MSQH-accredited hospitals’ staff using the Stratified Random Sampling method and received 251 useable responses constituting a 55.78 per cent response rate. The reliability and validity of the research variables were tested based on internal consistency, construct validity and discriminant validity by applying the SmartPLS 3.3.4 software. The relationships among various variables in the model were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Overall, the study’s findings reveal that Lean and Six Sigma initiatives positively and significantly impact the continuous quality improvement of MSQH-accredited hospitals. The findings also indicate that top management support has a positive and significant relationship with teamwork and vice versa, i.e. teamwork significantly affects Lean and Six Sigma initiatives.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Selim Ahmed
Dr Selim Ahmed is an Associate Professor and Head of Business School, World University of Bangladesh. He received his PhD in Business Administration from International Islamic University Malaysia. Dr. Ahmed has published many articles in the peer reviewed journals such as International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, TQM Journal, Reviews on Environmental Health, International Journal of Healthcare Management, International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, Humanomics, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, International Journal of Business and Systems Research, and others. His research area includes Quality Management, Lean Six Sigma, Service Management, Quality Improvement Process, Healthcare Management & etc.
Rafikul Islam
Rafikul Islam received his M.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Calcutta and Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1988 and 1996, respectively. Presently, he is working as a Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Rafikul has published over 50 research articles in international journals that include European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Business Information Systems, IIUM Journal of Economics and Management, Asia-Pacific Management Review, Military Operations Research, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. His areas of research interest include Multiple Criteria Decision-Making; Quality and Operations Management.
Dewan Mehrab Ashrafi
Dewan Mehrab Ashrafi is a senior lecturer at ULAB School of Business, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Previously he worked at School of Business Administration, East Delta University as an assistant Professor. He did Master's in International Management and Consumer Psychology from Rhine-Waal University, Germany. His research areas are consumer behaviour, business management, service management, digital marketing and others.
Ibrahim Alqasmi
Dr Ibrahim Alqasmi is an Assistant Professor at Public Health School of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He received his Master's and PhD in Healthcare Management from the University of Salford, UK. His research areas are healthcare management, public healthcare, patient safety, quality improvement and others.
Musfiq Mannan Choudhury
Dr Musfiq Mannan Choudhury is a Professor of Business, Marketing, and Information Systems in the Department of Management at the University of Dhaka. He has worked previously in the University of Southampton on different projects of digital marketing. While working there, he was also included in the prototype building of the Boeing 737 max Rolls Royce Engine. Dr. Choudhury has around six (6) MPhil/PhD students enrolled with him. He has published 21 research papers in top ranking journals. In terms of innovation, he has developed an ERP which can streamline processes in higher education making institutes run effectively and smoothly.
Mahfuzur Rahman
Dr Mahfuzur Rahman is an Associate Professor at the University of Lincoln, UK. He is also an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Public Sociology and Sociotherapy (IJPSS) and the Journal of Management and Organisation. His current academic and research interests are in the area of Sustainability and Innovation with a focus on Emerging Markets. Investigating the potential environment friendly manufacturing, such as, adoption of textile enzymes, for a sustainable future motivates his most recent research works. Dr Rahman has published in internationally refereed journals, presented his research at a range of international conferences, and has contributed to a number of research projects. He has received a number of awards including University of Lincoln Merit Award 2018, Individual Merit Award 2019, Two best paper awards, University of Lincoln Team Award 2018 and Technology and Management for Development Award 2008 by the University of Oxford.
Bablu Kumar Dhar
Dr Bablu Kumar Dhar has been working as a faculty member and a researcher in several universities in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, and Thailand for the last 15 years. His keen research areas are Accounting, Human Resource Management, Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and Environmental Management.