Strategy-making capability and performance of Slovak acute hospitals

Research of strategic management issues in the environment of Slovak Health Care System generally and in the environment of secondary health care providers partially is a relatively new approach of last decade. In continuity with research of western authors this pilot study approaches a specific area of strategic management that is strategy-making capability and its relationship to performance of hospitals.

Main goal of authors was to apply framework developed by Hart and test relationship of strategy making capability and performance in Slovak Acute Hospitals. Two hypotheses were developed for that purpose.

To conduct a test of both hypotheses a combination of three instruments was used. First was a set of 17 questionnaire items to tap the five strategy-making modes. Second was another set of 8 questionnaire items to tap the four perceived performance dimensions. Third was a current classification of Slovak acute hospitals and their levels. In summary data on twenty-five questionnaire--items were mailed to Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of 81 Slovakian acute hospitals within a larger survey co-ordinated by Ministry of Health. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey of top managers from selected acute Slovak hospitals within December 1999--February 2000. The sample was chosen from the list of acute care hospitals in the 1999 Report of the Slovak Institute for Health Care Information and Statistics.

Being aware of certain limitations in such a construct results indicate that hospitals with higher level of strategy-making capabilities might outperform those with lower level of this capability. (Tab. 5, Ref. 21.).