Purpose Although strategic planning promised to boost organizational performance, many health care managers found it difficult to implement it successfully. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the success of strategic planning in health care organizations of Iran. Design/methodology/approach This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 using a valid and reliable questionnaire completed by 99 health care managers in Tehran province, Iran. Findings Strategic planning was positively related to organizational performance including employees' and patients' satisfaction and organizational productivity. However, strategic planning was moderately successful in enhancing organizational performance of Iranian health care organizations (score of 2.84 out of 5). The most and least success was observed in the planning and employee management constructs of organizational performance. Process management, organizational culture and customer management constructs had the most effect on the success of strategic plans in health care organizations. Practical implications Strategic planning is effective and provides a clear focused direction for health care organizations. Understanding the success factors of strategic planning would enable managers to develop more effective methods for developing, implementing and evaluating strategic plans in health care organizations. Originality/value This paper highlights the relationship between strategic planning and organizational performance and offers suggestions on how to develop and implement strategic plans to achieve higher organizational performance.
Keywords: Health care; Iran; Strategic plan; Successful implementation.