Factors Affecting Self-Empowerment of Employees in Private Hospitals in Iran

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors which affect the self-empowerment of employees in private hospitals in Iran and it was conducted by combining qualitative (data base) and quantitative (survey) methods. The statistical population were selected for both qualitative and quantitative parts. In the qualitative phase 40 individuals were selected. From this sample, 20 individuals were managers and employees of private hospitals and 20 individuals were university professors and experts in the field of management. The data in this part was collected through interviews which continued until theoretical saturation was reached. In the quantitative phase, using Cochran's formula, 293 individuals were selected randomly. The data collected from the interviews were analyzed through the grounded theory and the data from the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The findings revealed that self-empowerment could be considered as a psychological phenomenon based on individual activism. This refers to a process where a set of causal factors (individual and organizational factors or, in other words, internal and external factors), contextual factors (including cultural-social and organizational factors), intervening organizational factors (including organizational justice and organizational transformation and modernization) involve in its formation. Among the mentioned factors, the respondents offered a better evaluation of individual factors compared to organizational factors regarding the casual factors, of organizational nature compared to cultural and social factors in terms of the contextual factors, and of organization change and update compared to organizational justice in terms of intervening factors.