Dual Goals, Dual Agency: The Perils of Measurement and Control; Comment on “Dual Agency in Hospitals: What Strategies Do Managers and Physicians Apply to Reconcile Dilemmas Between Clinical and Economic Considerations?”

This commentary to Waitzberg et al draws on the research stream on organizational goals in management to examine the findings they report, point out the correspondence of their findings and interpretation with existing theory, including development beyond it. Their work discusses these considerations very well. It also suggests paths to further theoretical development and proposes how their work demonstrate the potential for further research on multiple goals in hospitals. Such research will be important both for health policy and management and for management theory and practice generally.