The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment in the Relationship between a Healthcare Accreditation Program and Managerial Performance

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of a healthcare accreditation program based on management control systems(MCS), organizational commitment, and managerial performance to understand the effects of MCS in a hospital setting. A cross－sectional survey on the healthcare accreditation program, organizational commitment, and managerial performance was conducted for empirical analysis. The study population includes Korean general hospital with at least 300 beds accredited by Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation(KOIHA). The survey questionnaires were distributed to 350 employees who have a job title of manager or above in 29 accredited general hospitals. The result shows that the accreditation program is positively associated with organizational commitment firstly. Second, this study also empirically documents how organizational commitment is linked to managerial performance in a hospital setting. The empirical evidence shows a positive relationship between organizational commitment and managerial performance. Finally, we posit an indirect effect of the accreditation program on managerial performance via organizational commitment, and prove the full mediating effect of organizational commitment. This study contributes to the extant management accounting and healthcare literatures in three ways. First, we regard healthcare accreditation as MCS, which has not been considered in prior studies. Second, this study provides empirical evidence of how participating in an accreditation program affects managerial performance by introducing the role of organizational commitment. Lastly, this study contributes to ascertaining the influence of using MCS in a hospital setting by describing the indirect effect of MCS on individual performance through organizational commitment.