The study investigates whether risk-taking functions as a strategic capability that improves firm performance in public hospitals that operate in resource-constrained healthcare systems.
Data were collected through survey method from 151 public hospitals. A multivariate general linear model was used to analyse the effect of risk-taking on organisational effectiveness and organisational relevance. Hospital level, bed capacity and number of personnel in the public hospitals were used as control variables.
The study revealed that risk-taking has a significant multivariate effect on organisational performance. Specifically, risk-taking positively influences organisational effectiveness of public hospitals. Risk-taking does not significantly influence organisational relevance once the controls are included.
The study adopted a cross-sectional research design, which limits causal interpretation. Future research should engage longitudinal study designs and incorporate objective performance indicators such as return on assets to strengthen causal understanding.
The findings suggest that organised entrepreneurial commitment in an organisation, can improve internal service provision performance devoid of essentially undermining institutional mission and vision. This occurs when entrepreneurial commitment is embedded within appropriate governance structures.
The study improves the understanding of risk-taking as a strategic capability in public hospitals and further reveals that, in order to enhance performance in organisations, organisational characteristics such as the number of personnel should be understood.
