Quality management through a national quality award framework

Abstract

PurposeAs the importance of health care is growing worldwide and it has undergone a significant change, this paper aims to report a case study in a hospital complex that implemented an excellence model framework.Design/methodology/approachReported in this paper is a case research approach in a hospital in Brazil. Data were gathered through semi‐structured interviews, direct field observation and archival data records. Then, the aggregation of results was done a posteriori to construct the case study.FindingsThe empirical evidence in the paper has shown that the introduction of the quality management framework based on a national quality award enhanced quality awareness and improved service quality and organizational performance. In addition, the use of the framework at the hospital supports organization leadership in the journey towards quality excellence.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is limited to a single case study. Replications among other samples are needed to validate current findings. In addition, because quality management initiatives are not necessarily constant over time, there is a need to conduct longitudinal studies on a periodical basis. Nevertheless, there is a certain degree of generalization of what has been learned from the case study.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few published studies that report and discuss the implementation of a quality management system based on a performance excellence framework in a country in South America.