Within the last few years, healthcare has become a highly desirable research arena in the operations management literature. Given the high level of quality required, uncertainty in service demand, and cost reduction needs; operations management research is well suited to assist in improving the U.S. healthcare system. With the introduction of the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Acts in 2010, the metrics by which hospitals are measured are now being rooted in the concepts of the Triple Aim – improved experience of care, improved population(s) health, and reduction in per capita cost. While a hospital may strategically concentrate on one or two dimensions of the Triple Aim, the achievement of all three is difficult. This dissertation attempts to explore how the concept of focus can potentially aid hospitals in achieving Triple Aim goals. Originally rooted in the concept of the “focused factory,” the concept of focus has been touted by scholars and practitioners alike for its ability to enable the firm to reduce complexity in its operations and improve upon the quality of outcomes and efficiencies – such as economies of scale. Recently, scholars have begun to study the effects of hospital focus on performance outcomes. However, there is still a poor understanding of what influences a firm to undertake a focus strategy and how a focus strategy, along with complementarities and synergies (such as integration and breadth of services), might be able to meet the needs of the Triple Aim. This dissertation will examine in depth the focus strategy by exploring potential environmental antecedents; and by looking at how focus with expanded service offerings and integration influence the ability of the firm to balancing the requirements of the Triple Aim.
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