Publicness, Organisational Characteristics and Performance

This paper reports an exploratory study utilising a publicness model in which the impact of ownership, funding and mode of control on performance is moderated by organisational characteristics such as goals, structure and management. It describes the testing in 164 English hospital pharmacies of four health sector-relevant characteristics; diffusion of ownership (number of owners), priority of financial goals, congruence of core purpose (goals of sub-unit compared to organisation), and proximity of control (hierarchical levels between sub-unit and top management). Associations between these and four indicators of performance (managerial effectiveness, utilisation of human resources, work quality and employee satisfaction) were examined. Statistically significant relationships were seen between three of the organisational characteristics and some aspect of performance. Priority of financial goals was associated with perceptions of managerial performance, and proximity of control with use of human resources, work quality and employee satisfaction. Further elucidation of such characteristics may be justified.</jats:p