Strategic Change Management to Sustainable Healthcare: Customer Insights from Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The research explores the impact of change management practices—leadership support, employee involvement, and regulatory compliance —on the practice of sustainable healthcare in Saudi Arabia. Operational efficiency is treated not as a management practice but as a key outcome of effective change management. The research also examines patient readiness as a mediator influencing awareness, participation, and satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a quantitative Saudi Arabian healthcare consumer survey. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze change management, patient readiness, and sustainable healthcare relations adoption. Findings: Findings indicate that change management plays a strong role in increasing patient adoption (β = 0.322; p = 0.083), but with large effects on awareness (β = 0.873; p < 0.001), engagement (β = 0.841; p < 0.001), and satisfaction (β = 0.881; p < 0.001), as adoption reflected through awareness, engagement, and satisfaction. Patient readiness as a mediator was significant with strong effects between change management and adoption (β = 0.571; p < 0.001). Originality/value: This research expands the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by synthesizing it with strategic change management to predict patient readiness as a mediator of long-term adoption of healthcare in the Arab environment. Patient readiness is hypothecated as an observable behavioral construct to mediate organizational change practices—leadership, communication, and regulation—with individual adoption outcomes. The research provides theoretical and practical contributions for evidence-based healthcare policy and patient-led healthcare revolution. In addition, the study conforms with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and shows how effective change management not only assists national healthcare reforms but also global sustainability goals.