Suh, W: The Performance of Diversified Hospitals in Californ

Is the changed performance of diversified hospitals due to diversification, multi-market contact, or both? This book is a rich and pioneering work that addresses this question by fully exploring the original theory of diversification. Offering a different perspective to diversification on performance of firms, the book is a classic contribution to the theory. By employing data of 294 diversified general acute care hospitals in California for the period 1995 to 1999, the book brings a greater degree of clarity to the literature by reviewing, critiquing, and synthesizing two theoretical channels on the subject. In addition to scholars in academia, the book should also attract the attention of antitrust law makers regarding tacit collusion through diversification, as well as professionals in healthcare management. It argues that diversification that raises multi- market contact may also increase the market power of diversified hospitals, and suggests that diversification may be bad for efficiency and competition, but may be economically desirable for hospitals as a means of increasing collusion and market power.