PhD conferral Mr Daan D. Westra, MSc.

“Healthcare’s Competition Conundrum; cooperative inter-organizational strategies in competitive healthcare markets”

Keywords: healthcare, market mechanisms, partnerships, quality, price, consumer welfare

Market mechanisms were introduced in 2016 to make Dutch healthcare more affordable. This dissertation examines how these mechanisms influence the collaboration between Dutch hospitals in the form of shared directors, specialists and patients. The results reveal that hospitals have entered into closer partnerships over the years and that increased price competition is associated with significantly more collaborative partnerships. While various strategic motives underlie these collaborative efforts, the partner networks are not always optimally structured.  Partnerships have the potential to improve quality of care on the one hand and drive up prices on the other.