Healthcare executives’ readiness for a performance measurement system: a rehabilitation hospital case study

Abstract

The literature on organizational change identifies readiness as an important factor for understanding the outcome of implementation. In the context of implementing a performance measurement system (PMS) in a rehabilitation hospital, we conducted a case study to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that might impede or facilitate readiness to use a PMS. Two data sources were used: key informant interviews with healthcare executives and official organizational documents. Our results indicate that healthcare executives’ readiness for a PMS was high. This state of readiness is influenced by 12 factors that were classified into three main themes: (1) adopters’ attributes, (2) PMS attributes, and (3) organizational attributes. These results are consistent with change management theory as well as the findings of recent empirical research. In the context of implementing a PMS, a readiness assessment can help identify organizational strengths and weaknesses so that strategies necessary for successful implementation can be developed.