| Lack of research on Chief Executive Officer (CEO) succession planning in the healthcare industry is problematic considering the prediction of significant retirement-based turnover of CEOs over the next decade. This study examined differences in freestanding hospital CEO succession planning by: (1) corporate structure (state government, local government, private/not-for-profit and private/for-profit); (2) type of setting (community-rural, community-urban and community-suburban); (3) internal versus external candidate selection; and (4) educational level of the selected CEO candidate. The study further explored differences in perceived effectiveness in identification of CEO successors and preparing successors for the CEO role.;This research analyzed data from the Garmon and Tyler 2003 study commissioned by the American College of Healthcare Executives, which utilized a 76-question survey with a total of 722 surveys freestanding hospitals responding from among the 1,652 organizations solicited (a 44 percent response rate). The survey respondents were hospital CEOs and hospital governing board chairpersons. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square test, ANOVA and MANOVA tests were used to analyze data.;The findings demonstrated that most hospitals, based on corporate structure and type of setting, did not typically conduct CEO succession planning. When hospitals did not conduct succession planning, the institution selected an external candidate 68 percent of the time. There was a difference in educational level of the selected CEO candidate wherein more than one-fifth held a baccalaureate degree, nearly three-fourths held masters' degrees and a small percentage held doctoral degrees. Hospitals that conducted CEO succession planning had a higher level of perceived effectiveness in identifying successors and preparing successors for the CEO role.;This study illustrates a serious and widespread void in a crucial hospital governance domain. Hospital governing boards need to focus on CEO succession planning more consistently and consciously than evidence by this research, have a better understanding of why CEO succession planning should be incorporated in the institution's overall strategic planning, and establish criteria and predetermined processes for selecting the hospital's next top leader. The findings of the study provide valuable insights into freestanding hospital CEO succession planning in the United States. |
