
Management Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
10-2006
Publication Source
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume
31
Issue
3
Start Page
255
Last Page
265
DOI
10.1016/j.jsat.2006.06.020
Abstract
Drawing on experiences in other industries, this article argues that the business of addiction treatment is likely to be transformed by the advent of a period of consolidation, in which a number of small independent programs will be acquired by larger, better capitalized, and managerially more sophisticated enterprises. Consolidation will be driven by opportunities to leverage new technologies, to exploit new regulatory initiatives, and to introduce economies of scale and scope into an industry that is currently highly fragmented. The process is likely to result in segmentation of the market, with the coexistence of large, generalist, highly standardized firms and a number of small highly specialized firms. When an industry consolidates, the types and quality of services provided can improve through the adoption of best practices and through increased competition among larger providers. If these larger providers are publicly traded, however, efforts to improve will inevitably be influenced by pressures to maintain or increase quarter-to-quarter earnings and share prices, leaving open the long-term impact on service quality.
Copyright/Permission Statement
© 2006. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords
humans, industry, managed care programs, marketing of health services, substance abuse treatment centers, substance-related disorders
Recommended Citation
Corredoira, R. A., & Kimberly, J. R. (2006). Industry Evolution Through Consolidation: Implications for Addiction Treatment.. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 31 (3), 255-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2006.06.020
Included in
Health Services Administration Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Performance Management Commons
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.