How TQM Principles Influence Job Performance in Healthcare? The Role of Locus of Control

The high-level coordination needs of hospitals require a conscious and disciplined total quality management (TQM) to improve healthcare service quality. Besides, the effectiveness of TQM relies on how healthcare professionals perceive TQM principles and how they improve their job attitudes and performances accordingly. From this view, we aimed to examine how TQM principles in healthcare services (i.e., patient focus, continuous improvement, teamwork) affect healthcare professionals' job performance. From the social learning perspective, we predicted that the relationship between TQM principles and job performance might differ by the locus of control (internal and external). We collected data through questionnaires from 347 nurses actively working in various departments of two different public hospitals in Turkey. We found that nurses' perceptions of patient focus and continuous improvement positively relate to their job performance. In addition, we found that the relationship between teamwork perception and job performance differed regarding the locus of control. While teamwork negatively affects job performance in nurses with a higher internal locus of control, it positively affects job performance in those with a higher external locus of control.