Insights into the process dynamics of innovation implementation

The case of public hospitals in Germany

authored by

Erk P. Piening

Abstract

In order to meet the needs of their multiple stakeholders, public sector organizations are increasingly asked to improve the efficiency and quality of their services. With this respect, the implementation of innovations has been advocated as a means to accomplish this challenging task. Empirical evidence reveals, however, that organizations frequently struggle to implement innovations or fail to achieve the intended benefits of adopted innovations. Despite widespread interest in this issue, the literature does not provide convincing explanations as to why this occurs, with implementation processes largely treated as a 'black box' in existing research. This article addresses this research gap by analyzing the underlying dynamics that shape implementation activities. A multiple case study design is used to research into the implementation of a process innovation in five public hospitals. The findings show substantial differences between the cases in regard to implementation success which can be attributed to idiosyncratic process dynamics.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior

Type

Article

Journal

Public management review

Volume

13

Pages

127-157

No. of pages

31

ISSN

1471-9037

Publication date

01.2011

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Management Information Systems, Management of Technology and Innovation

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2010.501615 (Access: Closed)