Title: Interactive management control via analytic hierarchy process: an empirical study in a public university hospital

Authors: Carmela Vanzanella; Giuseppe Fico; Maria Teresa Arredondo; Roberto Delfino; Vincenzo Viggiani; Maria Triassi; Leandro Pecchia

Addresses: Italian Council of National Researches (CNR), Piazzale Aldo Moro 7, 185, Rome, Italy ' Departamento de Tecnología Fotónica y Bioingenieria, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense, 30, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid, Spain ' Departamento de Tecnología Fotónica y Bioingenieria, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense, 30, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid, Spain ' Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico Federico II of Naples, Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy ' Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico Federico II of Naples, Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy ' Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico Federico II of Naples, Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy ' School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK

Abstract: This paper describes an application of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to enhance interactive budgeting in one of the biggest public university hospitals in Italy. AHP improved budget allocation facilitating elicitation and formalisation of units' needs. Furthermore, AHP facilitated vertical communication among managers and stakeholders, as it allowed multilevel hierarchical representation of hospital needs, and horizontal communication among staff of the same hospital, as it allowed units' need prioritisation and standardisation, with a scientific multi-criteria approach, without using complex mathematics. Finally, AHP allowed traceability of a complex decision-making process (as budget allocation), this aspect being of paramount importance in public sectors, where managers are called to respond to many different stakeholders about their choices.

Keywords: AHP; analytical hierarchy process; multicriteria decision making; MCDM; interactive budgeting; management control; accounts management; public hospitals; university hospitals; budget allocation; healthcare management; hospital needs; traceability.

DOI: 10.1504/JIBED.2015.070444

Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 2015 Vol.8 No.2, pp.144 - 158

Published online: 06 Jul 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article