Assessing Management Education Practices and Needs among Health Workers in Croatian Medical Institutions: A Case Study Approach

Authors

  • Nives Ivković University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, Croatia
  • Mirjana Pejić Bach University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, Croatia
  • Ivan Miloloža University of Osijek Faculty for Dental Medicine & Health

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54820/entrenova-2025-0005

Keywords:

healthcare sector, management education, healthcare workforce, Croatia

Abstract

With growing complexity in the healthcare sector, competent management education for health personnel has become essential. Croatia’s distinctive healthcare environment offers an opportunity to examine the state and needs of management education within its workforce. This study explored current practices and the perceived needs of healthcare professionals in Croatian medical institutions through a case study using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis and cross-case synthesis revealed notable variation in management education and a clear demand for better-organized, tailored programs addressing Croatia’s specific healthcare challenges. Participants emphasized the value of multidisciplinary cooperation and staying aligned with global trends, including digital processes, AI, robotics, simulations, and virtual reality, noting that different educational methods offer distinct advantages.

Author Biographies

  • Nives Ivković, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, Croatia

    Nives Ivković graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Business, Management Department, University of Zagreb, summa cum laude. She is currently a PhD candidate at the Doctoral Program in Economics and Global Security at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. She has participated in several international scientific conferences. Her areas of research interest are innovations in management, innovations in education, psychology in management, and global security. The author can be contacted at: nivkovic@net.efzg.hr

  • Mirjana Pejić Bach, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, Croatia

    Mirjana Pejić Bach is a full professor at the Department of Informatics, Faculty of Economics in Zagreb. She holds a PhD in system dynamics modelling from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zagreb. She was trained at the MIT Sloan School of Management in system dynamics and OliviaGroup in data mining. Mirjana is the leader and collaborator on numerous projects, working with Croatian companies and international organisations, mainly through European Union projects and the bilateral research framework. Her research areas are the strategic application of information technology in business, data science, simulation modelling, research methodology, and qualitative and quantitative methods, especially multivariate statistics and structural equation modelling. Mirjana is the editor of several scientific journals indexed in Scopus and WoS, has organised several conferences, and has given plenary lectures at congresses, including the IEEE Systems Congress. She has won several international awards for her scientific work, such as the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence. According to the Scopus database, Mirjana Pejić Bach is among the 2% most cited scientists in 2020 and 2021. She received the most citations in the field of Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing. The main goal of her work is to support aspiring researchers by mentoring doctoral theses and developing their scientific careers. The author can be contacted at: mpejic@efzg.hr

  • Ivan Miloloža, University of Osijek Faculty for Dental Medicine & Health

    Ivan Miloloža graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb. He lived and worked abroad from 1983 to 1986 (Argentina and the Netherlands). Since 1986, he has been employed at Munja, the only Croatian battery producer, where he has held almost all management positions and is currently the chairman of the board (since 1999). He held many social functions in various government bodies, associations, and banks, and he was a participant and a guest lecturer at numerous national and international Conferences. He received his doctorate in 2015 from the Faculty of Economics in Osijek. Currently, he is a Vice Dean at the Faculty for Dental Medicine & Health at the University of Osijek. The author can be contacted at: imiloloza@fdmz.hr

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Published

2026-02-19

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2025)

Section

Health, Education, and Welfare

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Nives Ivković, Mirjana Pejić Bach, Ivan Miloloža

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Assessing Management Education Practices and Needs among Health Workers in Croatian Medical Institutions: A Case Study Approach. (2026). ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Journal, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.54820/entrenova-2025-0005