A introdução do conceito e a aplicação de inteligência competitiva em hospitais de Caxias do Sul

Abstract

This study aimed to identify how the CEOs of the hospitals of Caxias do Sul, Brazil, understand the concept of Competitive Intelligence (CI) and how they perceive its utility in the hospital segment. In addition, the study focused on determining how concerned these hospitals are about evaluating business environment and how they collect and analyze information for decision-making, and determining whether CI-related activities, even intuitive ones, can be found on these companies. Methodology to achieve proposed goals has been based on qualitative research, exploratory type, with the application of in-depth interviews with the CEOs of six out of seven local hospitals. The contents proceeding from the interviews have been undergone to a content analysis. Results showed differences between the hospitals whose major funder is the Brazilian Public Health System SUS and those that depend heavily on health care operators, especially in regard to interest in the business environment, mainly perceived in this second group. As sources for collecting information of the external environment, respondents highlighted regulators, physicians, other institutions, certification standards, customers and academia. As techniques for collecting information were mentioned visits, participation in conferences and courses and the use of benchmarking. Even with the intuitive use of some of the principles of CI, the application of its concepts and benefits was considered incipient in the context examined. Anyway, in a scenario where hospitals have strong concerns about controlling costs and difficulty to set prices that address their needs, it can be assumed that CI can become a significant ally of management, enabling better understanding of the actions of competitors and the market moves to the decision-making and innovation.