Designing a Structural Model of Value Co-Creation with a Human Resource Approach in Medical Sciences Universities

Abstract

This study aims to design a value co-creation model based on human resource perspectives within the medical sciences universities of northern Iran. The research is applied in terms of objective and follows a mixed-methods approach (qualitative and quantitative) for data collection. The qualitative phase employed grounded theory using the systematic approach of Strauss and Corbin (1998), while the quantitative phase utilized structural equation modeling (SEM). In the initial phase, concepts were extracted through a review of theoretical foundations, prior research, and semi-structured interviews. The qualitative participants included experts in organizational and human resource fields of medical universities, as well as faculty members, selected through snowball sampling, totaling 36 individuals. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, with theoretical saturation achieved in the 28th interview. In the quantitative section, the statistical population included all managers, deputies, and employees of Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, and Golestan University of Medical Sciences, amounting to 27,726 individuals. Using Cochran’s formula, a sample size of 379 was estimated. A stratified random sampling method was applied. Findings revealed that organizational structure and leadership, human resource development, communication and collaboration, responsiveness to labor market changes, development and innovation, ethics and social responsibility, financial management and resource allocation, and shared organizational culture are causal factors. Technical infrastructure, organizational policies and strategies, technology service management, sustainable financial management policies, philanthropic capacity in health promotion, shared workspace, and structured knowledge management were identified as the governing context. Political conditions, external stakeholder interventions, financial and resource constraints, inefficiency in enterprise resource planning (ERP) management, administrative system inefficiency, organizational counterproductive behaviors, and cultural diversity within universities were identified as intervening conditions. Strategic measures such as implementation of the university’s strategic transformation plan, assessment center diagnostics and HR development, modeling the role of knowledge-industry coordination centers in university-industry relations, allocation of resources and administrative support for joint projects, formulation and execution of HR capacity toward organizational mission achievement, strategic HRM goals and processes, and stakeholder engagement in university policymaking processes lead to individual, organizational, and societal outcomes. The model fit indices confirmed that all identified categories were supported in the confirmatory analysis, and the research model demonstrated a satisfactory fit.