Refine
Document Type
- Article (2)
- Part of a Book (1)
- Doctoral Thesis (1)
- Report (1)
Keywords
Institute
Employees are a very important source of innovation and essential for the generation, dissemination and implementation of these ideas throughout the organization. This is especially relevant when considering innovation in services during service (co-) creation such as within the healthcare sector. However, perceived employee involvement in innovation (EII) and between stakeholder group interactions in hospitals has not yet been studied in detail. This paper addresses the following research questions: “How do different employee groups perceive their involvement in the innovation process in hospitals and how do their actual involvement levels differ?” and (2) “How do different employee groups perceive their interaction with other employee groups in the innovation process and how do their actual interactions differ?” We analyzed a single typical German research hospital and conducted episodic interviews with employees representing different staff groups. We revealed that while all groups of employees are involved in innovation activities, perception of their involvement in innovation activities differs widely. There is a gap between perception and actual involvement particularly for lower level employees such as nurses. Further, their interaction differs among employee groups and innovation takes place in-group, rather than through group interaction. With our paper, we add to the understanding of perceived EII in hospitals and discuss measures for hospital management to increase EII.
Innovation in healthcare is a central way of coping with the changes affecting the healthcare system through the megatrends of demographic change, digitalization as well as the opportunities in the life-sciences sector and the “-omics” subjects. Due to the multiple facets of the topic, research on innovation in healthcare is diverse and draws insights from systems theory, management theory, human resources, innovation and change management. While the literature on innovation in healthcare has grown steadily in the last 20 years and publications on pharmaceutical and medical device innovation, health technology assessment strategies, or digital innovations have increased significantly, other areas such as sectoral health innovation systems, the creation and implementation of innovation in hospitals still remain fairly uncharted. Applying established concepts such as systems of innovation theory, mass customization theory or management of employee involvement in innovation activities to the healthcare sector provides new insights into a field that is often considered a “blackbox”. This thesis adds to the topic in three essays, each focusing on a different aspect and depth level ranging from a macro perspective on healthcare innovation on a global scale to a meso level perspective on the implementation of personalized medicine in one country and putting a micro lens on innovation activities of hospital staff. The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview for researchers, policy makers and healthcare stakeholders about current developments, propose tools for measuring innovation and allow for benchmarking the current status quo in healthcare in order to foster new and innovative developments.
The importance of innovation in healthcare has increased within the last decades as challenges, like rising costs and an aging demographic, have to be solved. The degree of innovativeness in healthcare is strongly influenced by the National Health Innovation System, which as a sectoral innovation system encompasses a wide variety of actors and related knowledge. Despite the highly practical relevance of the topic, there are only a few studies that analyze innovation in healthcare on a national level. Thus, this study is a starting point and, building on the theoretical framework of national innovation systems, answers the following questions: “Can countries be grouped by their innovation output in healthcare and do those groups differ in factors describing the healthcare system? Do countries with strong national innovation systems also have strong national health innovation systems and vice versa?” We compare the healthcare innovation output of 30 OECD countries using a multi-indicator approach and categorize them into four distinct groups using cluster analysis. The cluster consisting of the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands and Switzerland shows the highest innovation output measured in knowledge production and knowledge commercialization. Surprisingly, these countries, with the exception of Switzerland, only rank in the medium group when considering the entire national innovation system. Policymakers and researchers might be particularly interested in studying the healthcare systems of these countries.
In den letzten Jahrzehnten hat das deutsche Gesundheitssystem viele Veränderungen durchlaufen. Vor allem der rapide technische Wandel, der durch Digitalisierung und Individualisierung der Medizin vorangetrieben wird, stellt Krankenhäuser und deren Partner vor neue Herausforderungen. Gleichzeitig bieten sich aber auch neue Chancen für bestehende wie für neue Anbieter im Gesundheitswesen. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, entlang des Netzwerkansatzes als Bezugsrahmen für das Boundaryless Hospital Opportunitäten für Entrepreneure im Gesundheitswesen aufzuzeigen. Neben der Betrachtung von Netzwerktreibern anhand illustrativer Beispiele und deren Implikation für Start-ups, werden auch die aktuellen Vernetzungsbarrieren im deutschen Gesundheitssystem beleuchtet. Abschließend werden Empfehlungen ausgesprochen, wie diese Hindernisse überwunden werden können, um die Potentiale des Boundaryless Hospitals im Interesse der Patienten besser zu heben.