Succession planning: perspectives of chief executive officers in US hospitals.

A study was conducted to explore the perceptions of chief executive officers in US hospitals regarding the origins of leadership and how they felt about internally developed successors versus externally recruited successors. Furthermore, the study examined how this group of executives utilizes the succession planning process, what factors impact successor identification, what positions are applicable for succession planning activities, and who is ultimately held responsible for leadership continuity within the hospital industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]