The challenge of creating value through integrated solutions in a Brazilian health care provider: The blue life case study

This work is the result of a hindsight analysis of a successful project led by a Brazilian health care provider. It shows that the company´s market value significantly increased through the use of integrated solutions made up of integration strategies conceived specifically to balance its stakeholders´ needs. This analysis investigates economic value creation through the identification of business opportunities and strategy formulation in product differentiation for capital goods that have a high unit cost and are technology-intensive. A resource based vision analysis was the theoretical framework used in order to assess the solution adopted by the company, which aimed to meet the needs of the new Brazilian supplementary health regulations. The case shows how system integration competence-building was required to establish a strategic partnership that aimed to increase the company´s economic value. The highlight of this Brazilian case is a repositioning of the firm´s place in the health care value chain: it experienced upstream movement in building its own hospital and downstream movement in providing new services directly to its final customers. Through this upstream movement, the company established strategic partnerships with other companies in order to share risks and costs as well as profits and lessons learned.