The objectives of this study was to investigate the current level of adopting strategic management practices by healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia, and to explore the barriers to their implementation based on the opinion of the top management. However, to achieve the objectives of the study questionnaire was used as the method to collect views of senior management in eight healthcare organizations (four public and four private healthcare organizations). The research adopted a positivism research philosophy approach that helped in data collection and analysis. The research strategy and design was a survey that used the self-administered questionnaire. This strategy helped get the necessary information and data for this research from the top management people. It also focused on the mono-method research choice that involved the collection of quantitative data. Lastly, the research adopted exploratory and descriptive research data analysis approaches. The theoretical foundation of this research found out that there is a dire need for strategic management practices in both public and private healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia. The results showed that six out of eight healthcare organizations (two public and four private) have already adopted and implemented strategic management approaches. The results revealed that the main reasons behind clinging on the old management practice are (1) fear of change, (2) weakness of understanding the strategic concept, (3) insufficient capabilities of employees, (4) unwillingness to change. Practically, these research findings helped develop a framework that helped gain a deeper understanding of the link between implementing strategic management practices and the success of the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia. The last section of the research is the discussion and conclusion urging organizations to be cautious while adopting strategic management by continuously training both top managers and members of staff to ensure the strategy is purposefully implemented.

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Alomran, M. (2019). Implementation of strategic management practices in healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, 5(3), 131-144. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.20469/ijbas.5.10003-3