Operating Strategy, Growth and Innovation of Medical Institutions – A Case Study of ChangHua Christian Healthcare System

In recent years, when facing the impact of internal and external environment, Changhua Christian Healthcare System (C.C.H.) has utilized many management tools to improve quality of medical care and sustainable development. In this study, case study analysis is used on the C.C.H., the main case study, and the US Mayo Clinic, the comparison case. Though both cases have similar characteristics on cultural background and organizational development, their different scales and advantages lead to varied development strategies. In this study, a comprehensive comparison of C.C.H. with Mayo Clinic in terms of each facet of organizational culture, leadership, structure of board governance, growth strategy and innovation, strategy management in healthcare systems and financial performance, etc. At the same, the altruism behavior (including characteristics of servant leadership and transformation leadership) of Superintendent, Dr. Shou-Jen, Guo, is described, highlighting the impact of organizational culture and leadership to the growth strategy and management. The findings are that: with the view of incubation, C.C.H. attracts different partners to develop new markets. Based on the knowledge of medical management and advantage of brand superiority, C.C.H. creates revenue model of mentoring, financial investment and diversification. On the other hand, using the advantage of medical technology and practice, Mayo Clinic increases the contact rate of patients in a cooperative mode and enhances the opportunity of talent exchange and development via cooperation and authorization of R&D. In this way, the revenue generated from technology transfer and patent fee are expected. Conclusions and implications are based on organizational culture as an extension to reflect the characteristics of operating strategy, growth and innovation of Mayo Clinic and C.C.H.. This includes the impact of organizational culture on organizational growth strategy and financial performance, the impact of characteristics of leadership on re-demonstration of organizational culture, the impact of board governance structure on the strategy making between mission and survival, soft power (ex. knowledge, information and cultural spirit) as a foundation for growth and innovation, influence of organizational culture on strategy management in healthcare system and financial strategy. Innovative case study approach is taken to investigate the organizational culture, leadership, the board governance structure, growth strategy and innovation, strategy management, and financial performance of C.C.H, with comparison to the case of the US Mayo Clinic. Under the method of induction and deduction, it derived conclusion and management implications, which are expected as a model to other medical institutions and other industries. With the limitation of case study method, to take domestic medical institutions as comparison case and to design a long-term longitudinal case study for future research are suggested.