ABSTRACT
Healthcare industries and services are a globalized oligopolistic business. This article shows that the leading global players today were mostly born a century ago and continue to shape the global market for healthcare. Scholars have used a heterogeneous body of concepts, theories, and methodologies from different disciplines to explain the resilience of healthcare companies. The article explores the multinational enterprises that have dominated the global healthcare industry for more than a century. Based on the business history literature, the chapter provides a chronology of the industry’s evolution; identifies the variety of connections with the social, economic, and institutional environment; and highlights the dynamic construction of the myriad healthcare systems that exist today.
