SUPPLY CHAIN QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN KENYA

Abstract

One of the key responsibilities of any nation is to provide quality and affordable
medical services to a significant proportion of population regardless of their social or
financial status. This achievable if health institutions can minimize operational cost,
sustain high quality of service and generate adequate revenue to reward all
stakeholders. Available data from manufacturing and other service industries indicate
that supply chain quality management (SCQM) practices adoption has positive impact
multidimensional performance metrics. However, there is no certainty that these
practices similar effect on private hospitals in Kenya. Hospital supply chains are
complex and uniquely characterized by unpredictable demand, managing complex
disease conditions using heterogeneous product mix sourced across the globe. The
objective of this study was to investigate the effect of SCQM practices on performance
of private hospitals in Kenya. The performance measurement captured
environmental, operational, market, societal as well as growth and development
facets. The conceptual framework was developed after comprehensive review of
literature and relevant theories. The theories were; social network theory,
stakeholders’ theory, relational view and contingency theory. Cress sectional census
survey and Positivism paradigm were adopted. Primary data was collected from
persons responsible for making supply decisions private hospitals in Kenya using
structured questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized
model. The study confirmed a positive and significant effect of SCQM practices on the
performance of private hospitals. It was concluded that successful implementation of
SCQM practices improves performance of private hospitals in Kenya. The study
findings contribute to knowledge, theory and practice. It is recommended that private
hospitals should implement SCQM practices to improve their performance. The
findings are limited to private hospitals in Kenya, single respondent from the
organizations. Future research should be longitudinal, extend beyond the Kenyan
borders and cover other industries to enable generalizability of results.