Special issue “Sustainability Management in the Healthcare sector

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to shed light on the contributions of healthcare organisations to the achievement of the Sustainability Goals.

Link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/healthcare_management

The healthcare sector is a key one in many countries; where a systemic approach to the healthcare of the population has been defined by the governments, a relevant percentage of the public expenditure is devoted to the sector. Healthcare organisations are different from many others because of their complexity; a variety of processes and functions need to be organised to provide health services, plus both medical and non-medical competences are essential to accomplish the mission of the organisation.

As the sustainability discourse increases its relevance across the globe, the contribution of healthcare organisations to the achievements of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) becomes a urgent matter. Beyond the call for sustainability engagement raised by international institutions, national governments and the academic community, there is still limited knowledge about healthcare organisation practices in terms of sustainability and how these impact the management process. So far, some authors have focused particularly on the sustainable supply chain; on the social and environmental sustainability dimensions of healthcare organisation strategies; and on the definition of frameworks to analyse sustainability in the sector, while others have focused on organisation enablers of a sustainability strategy. However, the extent to which the sustainability goals are part of the healthcare organisation strategy and the impact of sustainability practices on the management and control system of the organisation lack attention.

Therefore, we invite original contributions that offer theoretical insights, deploy empirical data analysis (qualitative or quantitative), discuss case studies or use other suitable methods to shed light on the issue. Considering the multifaceted nature of the topic, we welcome studies underpinned by different theoretical approaches. The scope of the Special Issue includes (but is not limited to) the following topics:

• Healthcare organisation sustainability strategies;
• Social sustainability;
• Environmental sustainability;
• Sustainability practices and human resource behaviour;
• Performance measurement systems for sustainability;
• Sustainability strategies in practice and impact on the management control system;
• Financial dimension of the sustainability practice;
• Sustainability strategies and the relationship among healthcare system actors;
• Disclosure practice on sustainability strategies.

Dr. Emidia Vagnoni

Guest Editor