| Many factors have driven the rapid development of private hospitals in China,the most important of which are capital investments and national policy support.As one of the private hospitals,the AQE hospital was established with the goal of building a regional high-end private hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology,with full capital funding support,highest-quality medical technology,and specialized healthcare services.It has subsequently developed rapidly into a highly regarded hospital specialized in obstetrics and gynecology in Chengdu.However,with the reforms to China’s healthcare system,reform of the public hospital system,and the continuous improvement medical service standards,as well as the continued growth of other private specialized hospitals,AQE hospital found that its original competitive strategy became increasingly difficult to continue to support its development and brand expansion.AQE hospital is now facing significant development challenges.In order to solve this problem,this study examines AQE hospital’s strategy for competitive differentiation.This study will help understand the competitive environment,as well as the advantages and disadvantages of private specialized hospitals.In particular,this study will isolate the private hospital’s niche market differentiation strategy to enhance their competitiveness,grow AQE hospital brand awareness and influence,and promote the development and growth of AQE hospital.The object of this study is the competitive strategy AQE hospital.The methods of this study are literature review,comparative analysis,and case study analysis methods.The three goals of this study are to: 1)summarize the challenges from both the internal and external environments,and to provide a decision-making foundation for the formulation of its competitive differentiation strategy;2)develop a competitive differentiation strategy to ensure AQE hospital’s competitiveness;and 3)use the case of AQE hospital’s competitive differentiation strategy and its implementation safeguard measures as a reference for other similar private hospitals.This study begins by introducing and elaborating the relevant backgrounds,significance,purpose,methods,contents,theoretical bases,technology road maps,and main innovation points.This is followed by an analysis of selected national and international literature and viewpoints on competitive differentiation strategies.Next,it describes and analyzes AQE hospital’s current development status.Finally,this study proposes a competitive differentiation strategy based on the thorough study of the AQE hospital,including its internal and external environment,and identify relevant measures necessary to ensure the smooth implementation of the competitive differentiation strategy.Three conclusions of this study are:(1)The development and market competition of AQE hospital advantages are supported by the AQE medical holding group,well-equipped maternity and pediatric team,and a strong team of specialists.However,it also has some disadvantages,including a relatively low brand awareness,insufficient professional team construction,and lacking of comprehensive clinical wards.(2)The competitive differentiation strategy is the most suitable strategy for AQE hospital’s current development.The strategy involves three aspects: i)Differentiation of healthcare products;ii)Launch new differentiated healthcare services;iii)Apply differentiated competition model.(3)In order to ensure the successful implementation of the AQE hospital competitive differentiation strategy,it is necessary to strengthen AQE hospital’s internal management,enhance personnel development and professional development incentives,build and enhance the hospital culture,improve employment conditions and work efficiency,strengthen hospital branding development,and establish an evaluation plan for measuring the effectiveness of the competitive differentiation strategy’s implementation. |