Managerial innovative capabilities, competitive advantage and performance of healthcare sector during Covid-19 pandemic period

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of dynamic managerial innovative capabilities on the competitive advantage (CA), financial performance (FP) and non-financial performance (NFP) of the health-care sector during the very turbulent Covid-19 pandemic period. The focus is on human behavior and personnel interaction in the hospitals that receive Covid-19 cases.Design/methodology/approachData for this research was collected from the medical sector in Lebanon. The authors approached 14 public hospitals and 60 private hospitals for the study and only 48 hospitals (total of 284 respondents) accepted to complete the survey and provide data using a structured questionnaire.FindingsThis study reveals the moderating impact of CA on the relationship between dynamic managerial innovative capabilities and the performance of the health-care sector. Based on 48 Lebanese health-care centers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the results of the structural equation modeling model indicate that dynamic managerial innovative practices positively impact on CA and NFP. The results also reveal that CA has a moderating effect on the relationship between dynamic managerial innovative practices and NFP.Practical implicationsThis study does not reveal any direct or indirect relationship between managerial capabilities and FP during the pandemic.Originality/valueAs the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, the health-care sector needs new approaches and methods for confronting the constantly evolving and turbulent environment. This study examines how health-care leaders are dealing with these dynamic challenges and tests a three-dimensional SEM model of dynamic managerial capabilities (sensing, seizing and reconfiguration) that impact CA.