The Effect of Organizational Structure on the Entrepreneurial Spirit of the Staff Working in Vice-Chancellor for Treatment of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences

Background: In modern organizations, establishment and utilization of the entrepreneurial thinking are inevitable. Entrepreneurial thinking is considered as the insight and ability of the founders as well as the cause of the organizations' birth and death. In order to develop and strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit in organizations, appropriate facilities should be provided, such as organizational structures and formations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of organizational structure on the entrepreneurial spirit of the staff working in the vice-chancellor for treatment of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of medical sciences (AJUMS), Ahvaz, Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytic and correlational study was conducted on all the staff of vice-chancellor for treatment of AJUMS in 2017 (n = 260). The randomized cluster sampling method was applied and 152 employees were selected. Data collection tools were the Robbins Standard Organizational Structure questionnaires and a researcher-made questionnaire on organizational entrepreneurship. The  reliability coefficients of these 2 questionnaires were calculated as 0.85 and 0.81 using Cronbach's alpha, respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, univariate t test, regression coefficient) were used to analyze the data with SPSS 19. Results: The results indicated that the mean scores of the organizational entrepreneurship components in the studied university were higher than the average. The organizational structure had a positive and significant relationship with organizational entrepreneurship (r = 0.08) and formalization had a positive and significant relationship with entrepreneurship (r = 0.20). Furthermore, the complexity had a negative and reverse relationship with entrepreneurship (r = 0.16) and concentration had a positive and insignificant relationship with entrepreneurship (r = 0.11). Conclusion: It can be argued that reduction of complexity, horizontal and vertical segregation in the structure of the vice-chancellor for treatment, and effective utilization of the standard procedures and guidelines can be used as a suitable and beneficial strategy for innovation in providing health services in hospitals and affiliated centers.