Challenges of innovation management in health system organizations: evidence from Germany

Abstract

ABSTRACT The introduction of innovations poses particular challenges for organizations in the healthcare sector. These can be analyzed based on adoption and diffusion theory. In this study, a two-stage qualitative research design consisting of expert interviews (n = 13) and 3 workshops (n = 26) was used to analyze the experiences of healthcare professionals and related disciplines concerning innovation perception and communication and to derive management challenges for organizations. As part of the interview analysis, a total of 489 text segments were deductively assigned to the diffusion process categories of innovation (n = 100), process (n = 15), social system (n = 15) and information exchange channels (n = 59), and a further 219 text segments, synthesized into 18 categories, were inductively identified as management challenges. The results were validated during the workshop and expanded to include findings on innovation transfer and innovation perception. It was shown that digital innovations in organizations in the healthcare system context are associated with high expectations and that these can be influenced by various interacting communication partners and channels. There is a growing impression that the adoption and diffusion processes of telemedicine and digital innovations on an individual, social and organizational level are more subliminal than previously assumed.