병원의 노동 투자 비효율성이 회계 성과에 미치는 영향 = Dissecting Accounting Performance through Labor Investment Inefficiency: A Study of Physician Staffing in HospitalsLabor

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study investigates the relationship between labor investment inefficiency and accounting performance in non-profit hospitals, focusing on physician staffing imbalances. Using financial statement data disclosed by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and public data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service between 2020 and 2022, we examine how inefficient labor investment affects financial outcomes. Labor investment inefficiency is measured by estimating deviation from the expected number of physicians based on hospital characteristics. The empirical analysis reveals a significant positive relationship between overall physician understaffing and accounting performance, indicating that under certain conditions, hospitals may improve profitability through labor cost savings. Further analysis shows that this effect is pronounced in hospitals with below-average staffing levels, while no significant relationship is found in overstaffed institutions. Using DuPont decomposition, we find that understaffed hospitals tend to show improved net profit margins, whereas overstaffed hospitals suffer from lower asset turnover ratios. These results are consistent across both public and private hospital subsamples. The findings suggest that even non-profit hospitals, which are not primarily driven by profit motives, may engage in labor cost management to enhance their accounting performance. This study contributes to the accounting literature by providing empirical evidence on the strategic role of labor investment decisions in healthcare organizations. Additionally, the use of DuPont analysis offers nuanced insights into the channels through which staffing inefficiency influences financial outcomes. Our findings highlight the importance of optimal physician allocation in improving both operational efficiency and financial sustainability in hospital management.