Evaluation of competition intensity in the health sector from the perspective of healthcare administrators: A study on private hospitals

Healthcare services aims to protect and improve the health status of the society by serving diagnosing, reducing some risk factors, preventing disabilities, providing curative services and social rehabilitation. World Health Organization defines healthcare services as multidimensional and integrated in terms of preventive and curative services. The multi-dimensional structure of health services and the multi-purpose organization bring some difficulties. Healthcare centers should analyze the competitive conditions in the market to be able to assure an existence. Maintaining and also increasing the market share are key indicators for sustainability. This study aims to examine the intensity of competition in private healthcare sector in the line of 5 forces of Porter. The study is quantitative. A questionnaire form which is based on Porter's five forces was used to collect data from top managers of private hospitals in Istanbul. The findings indicated that average intensity of competition in private healthcare sector was found to be 2.98 which refers to a up moderate intensity. The competitive rivalry was perceived at highest level. The other forces were relatively lower. It can be stated that the perception is a little bit above of average. According to correlational evaluation, a significant, positive and moderate relationship was identified between competitive rivalry and buyer power. Regression analysis indicated that the effect of buyer power is the only significant factor on competition rivalry.