19028: Do No Harm? How Healthcare Management Research Can Advance Environmentally Sustainable Health Care (session 25468)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared climate change as “the single biggest health threat facing humanity” (2023). At the same time, healthcare systems, particularly in western countries, significantly contribute to climate change and environmental degradation. Hence, healthcare systems need to transition towards more sustainable practices. Large-scale change like transitioning to sustainable practices poses new challenges to the way healthcare systems operate and are managed. We synthesize discussions during the Academy of Management 2024 Annual Meeting hosted by the Healthcare Management Division and draw from theories and research orientations from the field of healthcare management to develop a framework and research agenda for healthcare management about the transition towards sustainable healthcare practices. The framework consists of five promising areas for research including operations, antecedents, healthcare outcomes, effective strategies and performance management and we suggest research questions for each of these areas. By identifying these areas, we provide a structured and focused lens through which scholars and practitioners can explore sustainability in health care. These five areas create a foundation for further theoretical exploration and empirical research. We also make suggestions where theories may require adaptation or additional testing in the transition toward sustainable healthcare practices.

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