Strategy Formation in Hospitals: Management of Intended and Unintended Strategic Issues

Our study aims into the investigation of decentralized strategy formation in hospitals. Specifically, the empirical research focuses on how intended and unintended strategic issues emerge in hospitals. In addition, we... [ view full abstract ]

Our study aims into the investigation of decentralized strategy formation in hospitals. Specifically, the empirical research focuses on how intended and unintended strategic issues emerge in hospitals. In addition, we investigate how the operationalization of intended strategic issues into deliberate strategies and how the development of unintended strategic issues into emergent strategies is man-aged in strategy formation. The contribution of our research lies in three areas: We relate the theory of strategy formation to hospitals and investigate the integration of emergent and deliberate strate-gies in hospitals. Further, we extend the theory of strategy formation by opening the black box of simultaneously managing the formation of intended and unintended strategic issues into deliberate and emergent strategies in hospitals. Finally, we develop a model of strategy making capabilities in hospitals as an interplay of structure and interaction and discuss empirically elaborated con-straints and supportive factors.