A Holistic Model of Innovation Network Management: Action Research in Elderly Health Care

Abstract

Network management, in particular innovation network management, is a topic of increasing interest and scope. Research on innovation network management has offered various, but ultimately partial, theoretical and practical contributions. Trust and commitment have been identified as the basic elements of a functioning network, and we know that there are certain factors that foster or discourage their existence. Networks are different; each different network has its particular challenges. Indeed, practice-based innovations involve specific challenges for network management. Our aim is to look at innovation network management from a holistic perspective, bringing together the relevant but scattered viewpoints and contributions. We use action research to look at what managers can do to manage an innovation network. The resulting holistic model rises from one particular practice-based innovation context – elderly health care in Finland – but we argue that it is applicable in other contexts and innovation types as well.