The e-health opportunity for the telecommunication industry and Portugal Telecom: a case study

• Autor(a) principal: Nascimento, Francisco Borges d’Almeida
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/11207
• topic: Telecommunication industry; e-health; Strategy; Resource-based view; RBV,; Resources and capabilities; Setor das telecomunicações,; e-saúde; Estratégia; Recursos e capacidades

Electronic-Health (e-health) is a recent answer to some pressing challenges on health. Aging of western societies and treatments’ rising costs raised doubts about health systems’ sustainability. Individuals, companies and public administration alike are looking for technology to find aid in addressing these challenges. Several industries are tacking those issues offering innovative solutions among which Telecommunication’s. Nonetheless, this industry is facing challenges from over-the-top players menacing its business model. Portugal Telecom shares these challenges and is looking to diversify to guarantee future growth, namely, by developing in e-health solutions. This case study follows two important threads in strategy literature: diversification and the resource-based view, applied Portugal Telecom and the e-health opportunity. As a case study, it aims providing readers a tool to better understand and employ strategic management concepts and frameworks in an applied business context. E-health as an opportunity for growth to Telecommunication companies and Portugal Telecom is described from three points of view: i) an actual market need ii) that may be addressed by Telecommunication companies and iii) should be addressed by those companies as they need to grow. It is shown how increasing concern with health issues by individuals, general public, companies and public administration is driving technology to find innovative answers to those same issues (i). Then, it is explained how Telcos may and in fact are addressing those issues, namely, by developing e-health solutions for their customers (ii). Finally, it is argued why Telcos should address this opportunity due their eroding revenues and margins (iii).