Strategic analysis of IRCCSs’ sustainability management

Although Healthcare Organizations (HOs) are functional in improving and protecting health, they generate, a negative impact (mainly in terms of environmental pollution) on health itself, highlighting the need for the adoption of sustainability-oriented governance. The paper analyzes the sustainable management modes of Scientific Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare Institutes (IRCCSs), whose businesses (care and research), include sustainability as an intrinsic dimension of their activities. The paper aims to study the sustainable strategic approach adopted by IRCCSs in the context of which it is relevant to explore also, but not exclusively, the role assumed by stakeholder management and sustainable investments. The methodology used consists of a search for relevant documents and a joint analysis of secondary data conducted on the various strategic planning documents published by IRCCSs, and primary data from distributed questionnaires. Limitations mainly relate to statistical representativeness of the chosen sample, difficulty in accessing the documents and temporal mismatch in their publication. The main result is the demonstration that IRCCSs, in addition to being promoters of innovation in the medical and managerial fields compared to other HOs, generate, through sustainability-based governance, positive impacts in economic, social, environmental, and ethical terms. To date, the priority areas in which IRCCSs' sustainability choices are manifested are: care services (e.g., waste management), supply chain management (e.g., supplier selection), digital innovation (e.g., telemedicine), and healthcare building (e.g., green hospitals). The paper provides insights into the potential of adopting more sustainability-oriented governance in HOs, highlighting the crucial role of IRCCSs as promoters of sustainable strategic approaches. Keywords: Healthcare Organizations, IRCCSs, strategic sustainability management, sustainable governance, strategic CSR