Hospitals are complex, pluralistic and paradoxical organizations. Strategy formation and organizational complexity are two elements of their strategic approach that contribute to the dichotomy of intention and action. The study analyzes how the strategy formation process occurs in these complex systems and examines elements of complexity and cognitive factors that influence the transformation of intentions into actions. The study was based on the theory of strategy, theory of complexity, with special emphasis on strategizing and sensemaking. It is a comparative case study of a qualitative nature, using a multi-method approach. Data were examined using the narrative technique and document analysis. The results showed strategy formation in hospitals as mostly iterative and creative, combining sensemaking and praxis, leading to the identification of a behavior pattern for strategy formation in hospitals.
strategy formation; complex adaptive systems; sensemaking; strategic practice; hospitals
