Abstract
The aim of this paper was to verify the sources of competitive advantages for hospital management by searching for mobility barriers among strategic groups. In Japan, free competition in hospital management is restricted by various regulations. However, since the necessary management resources are acquired through marketing transactions, management resources are concentrated in attractive hospitals and flow out of less attractive hospitals. Therefore, it is necessary to make profits through hospital financial management, which are a source of purchasing hospital equipment and medical devices for patients in the region. The aim of this paper was to verify the sources of competitive advantages, which is a factor influencing the profit differentials among hospitals, in Japanese hospital management by searching for “mobility barriers” among strategic groups in the medical industry.
In this paper, I discuss factors contributing to the “mobility barriers” stemming from profit differentials across hospitals of the Japan Red Cross Society, by verifying the differences in the mean variable values between high- and low-ranking hospital groups through multivariate analysis, during five fiscal year-periods from 2007 to 2011.
Our analysis revealed that the factors contributing to the “mobility barriers” creating profit differentials among hospitals were differences in the internal management resources, e.g., differences in the hospital scale and a high staffing level of physicians, and “management skills” involving hospital management, in general, among organizational capabilities.
