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Leagility in Healthcare: A Start-Up Case Study

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Modelling Value

Part of the book series: Contributions to Management Science ((MANAGEMENT SC.))

Abstract

When taking a broader view, ‘leanness’ can be conceptualized in terms of a quest for structural flexibility involving restructuring, downsizing and outsourcing. Looking for efficiency, quality and profitability gains, healthcare organizations adopt outsourcing solutions in the attempt of “doing more with less” seeking for benefits such as cost reduction, risk mitigation, adapting to quick changes without compromising internal resources (value mapping and value chain reconstruction) but also taking big risks as loss of control and flexibility. In order to understand how healthcare organizations find the best value equation combining internal and external resources, a case study on a start-up Long-term Care unit with innovative format, great levels of customization and following an outsourcing strategy, was carried out. The main conclusion, among others, is that in ambitious start-ups, when the speed of entrance is a conditioning factor, trade-offs between cost and quality gains (leanness) and between cost and time gains (agility) can be combined through outsourcing strategies in a so called “leagile” paradigm. This study contributes for a wider understanding of the “leagile” concept associated to an outsourcing strategy as a way of coping with market and services volatility, uncertainty and complexity, hyper competition and market share/sped of entrance goals.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Vitasek (2005) definition, consensual among Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, can be consulted at http://www.cscmp.org/Website/AboutCSCMP/Definitions

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, Operations and General Management, Lisbon University Institute, Lisboa, Portugal

    Cristina Machado Guimarães & José Crespo de Carvalho

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  1. Cristina Machado Guimarães
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  2. José Crespo de Carvalho
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Correspondence to Cristina Machado Guimarães .

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  1. FH Oberösterreich, Wehrgrabengasse 1-3, Steyr, 4400, Austria

    Herbert Jodlbauer

  2. , Department of Management, Linköping University, Linköping, 58183, Sweden

    Jan Olhager

  3. Schonberger & Associates, 107th Avenue N.E. #2101 177, Bellevue, 98004, Washington, USA

    Richard J. Schonberger

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Guimarães, C.M., de Carvalho, J.C. (2012). Leagility in Healthcare: A Start-Up Case Study. In: Jodlbauer, H., Olhager, J., Schonberger, R. (eds) Modelling Value. Contributions to Management Science. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2747-7_14

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