Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility: evidence from the healthcare sector

Purpose - Sound corporate governance is now a mainstream issue of concern in the business world. However, there has been no systematic investigation of corporate governance practices in the healthcare sector. Allowing for a distinction between two types of healthcare organizations (profit and non-profit), this paper aims to investigate nuances in the application of sound governance principles across different types of healthcare organizations in the context of a developing country, together with differing understanding and applications of corporate social responsibility. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on a qualitative interpretive methodology, comprising in-depth interviews with top hospital executives drawn from 21 Lebanese hospitals representing both the profit and non-profit varieties. Findings - The findings suggest some basic governance differences between for-profit and non-profit hospitals in terms of managerial structure, ownership and the role of the board of directors, as well as differing orientations towards corporate social responsibility. There is a general lack of understanding and application of corporate governance best practices in family-owned, for-profit hospitals, whereas non-profit hospitals are more in line with corporate governance best practices, and more attuned to corporate social responsibility. Originality/value - This paper presents fresh insights into applications of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility principles in a very important sector that has not received systematic attention and consideration in the literature.