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Do star employees help or hinder department performance: the case of surgeons in South Korean hospitals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2021

Sangsuk Oh ,
Owwon Park Open the ORCID record for Owwon Park [Opens in a new window]  and
Woonki Hong
Sangsuk Oh
Affiliation:
Performance Management Team, National Cancer Center, 323 Ilsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do10408, South Korea
Owwon Park*
Affiliation:
Department of Business Administration, The Catholic University of Korea, 43 Jibong-ro, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do14662, South Korea
Woonki Hong
Affiliation:
School of Business Administration, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, 50, UNIST-gil, Ulsan44919, South Korea
*
Author for correspondence: Owwon Park, E-mail: owpark@catholic.ac.kr
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Abstract

Based on strategic human capital theory, this study examines the effects of star surgeons on two different types of healthcare outcomes (i.e., number of surgical patients and length of patients’ in-hospital stay after surgery) in the surgery department. We also explore whether the relationship between star surgeons and healthcare outcomes is contingent on the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons. The results of an empirical analysis on colorectal cancer surgeons in 80 departments in South Korean hospitals show that the number of star surgeons increases the number of surgical patients and reduces the length of patients' stay after surgery. Moreover, the positive relationship between star surgeons and the number of surgical patients is strengthened when the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons is low. The implications of these findings for research and practice are also discussed.

Keywords

Expertise disparityhealthcare outcomeshospitalstar employees
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , First View , pp. 1 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2021

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