The effects of healthcare governance and ownership structure on the performance of hospitals in Ghana

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of health-care governance and ownership structure on the performance of hospitals in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses multiple regression models based on a sample of 132 hospitals in Ghana. Findings – The results of the study indicate that hospitals with a governing board perform better than those without a governing board. The results of this study also suggest that board characteristics and ownership structure are important in explaining the performance of hospitals in Ghana. The results further indicate that mission-based and private hospitals with effective board governance structures exhibit better performance than public hospitals. Originality/value – This study makes a number of new and meaningful contributions to the extant literature and the findings support managerialism, stakeholder and resource dependency theories. The findings also have important implications for the effective governance of hospitals.