The Impact of Lean, Green and Knowledge Sharing on Organization Sustainability in Healthcare in UAE: The Mediating Role of Organization Innovation

Abstract

Sustainability is currently considered as vital for healthcare organizations and has become one of the most discussed and studied areas by healthcare professionals. In addition, healthcare is under pressure to increase the level of efficiency and reduce both costs and waste; the best strategy to achieve this objective is through lean practices and green techniques. Organizations that are integrating both green and lean are achieving high levels of environmental commitment and maintaining sustainable business performance. In this context, knowledge sharing is highly important within organizations. In addition, innovation has proven to be an important element in measuring organizational performance. This present dissertation investigates the relationship and impact of lean practices, green techniques, and knowledge sharing on organizational sustainability performance dimensions and the mediating impact of organizational innovation in the healthcare sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A quantitative methodology was applied to examine the relationship between the variables, utilizing a cross-sectional random sampling method. The results reveal that lean practices, green techniques, and knowledge sharing have a positive impact on organizational sustainability performance. In addition, organizational innovation plays a vital role as a mediator. This dissertation’s results can be used as a useful tool for practitioners seeking the effective utilization of sustainability factors and the creation of a competitive advantage for their organizations. Furthermore, the implementation of the sustainability framework will help practitioners to be more aware of factors that influence their organization’s performance and allow them to achieve more sustainable results. The primary theoretical objective of this research is to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding lean practices, green techniques, knowledge sharing, organizational innovation, and organizational sustainability performance in the healthcare sector. The results of the study define the limits, relationship, and links between lean practices and green techniques, and an integrated model of lean practices, green techniques, knowledge sharing, organizational innovation, and organizational sustainability performance is proposed. However, the study has certain limitations: first, it focuses exclusively on the geographic area of the UAE; second, it is limited to the healthcare sector; and third, the study did not measure the impact of sustainability on either the organization’s employees or their service-users.