Performance implications of Porter's generic strategies in Slovak hospitals

• Published in: Journal of management in medicine Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 44 - 66
• Main Authors: Hlavacka, Svatopluk, Bacharova, Ljuba, Rusnakova, Viera, Wagner, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England MCB UP Ltd 01.02.2001
• Subjects: Cluster Analysis; Cost Control; Data Collection; Economic Competition; Efficiency, Organizational - statistics & numerical data; Health administration; Health care; Hospital Administration - methods; Leadership; Management Audit - statistics & numerical data; Marketing of Health Services; Models, Organizational; Planning Techniques; Product Line Management; Reproducibility of Results; Slovakia; Strategic management; Surveys and Questionnaires; Slovakia; Health care; Strategic management; Slovakia
• ISSN: 0268-9235; 1758-7441
• DOI: 10.1108/02689230110386489

The aim of the study was to examine the use of Porter's generic strategies and their effect on performance in the context of the Slovak hospital industry. Using mail survey the study first identified the natural taxonomy of four strategic types of Slovak hospitals, based on their use of Porter's generic strategies in pure form and in combination. Next the study examined whether different strategic types were associated with different levels of organisational performance, while controlling for such variables as size and location, which have been argued to influence the hospital performance. The findings indicate that hospitals which follow a "stuck-in-the-middle" strategy, in general, have superior performance on all used performance measures, while hospitals that place only low emphasis on cost leadership, differentiation and focus, labelled "wait and see" in this study, perform the poorest. The study concludes that the research provided body of knowledge relevant for the Slovak hospital industry, that may be used by hospital managers in the strategy formulation process as well as by the researches in exploring the influence of different contingencies on hospitals' strategic orientation.