Assessing and Managing Organizational Climate in Healthcare Organizations: An Intellectual Capital Based Perspective

During the past two decades a renewed interest about the role of intangible resources in determining performances of public services organisations has risen. This is particularly valid for HealthCare (HC) services, as they are knowledge intensive services and their performance are closely related, as the vast majority of their outputs, to intangible resources. Recently, scholars have examined the relevance of organisational climate for gathering outstanding performance in HC services. Literature suggests that organisational climate is a multifaceted concept deeply rooted in the intangible domain of an organisation. Several intangible resources intervene to shape organisational climate. Following this, the study shows how Intellectual Capital (IC) provides a useful and fresh frame for analysing intangible components of organisational climate and planning initiatives for their effective management. Especially, the examination of organisational climate through IC lens is proposed both as diagnosing tool for identifying elements which are hindering productivity, effectiveness and quality of HC services, and as tool for supporting managers in designing management initiatives aimed to enhance organisational performances by leveraging organisational climate. The study is based on the Action Research (AR) methodology and illustrates the results of an AR project, carried out at a public hospital.