Paper ID

3010

Paper Type

full

Description

Realizing the potential of digital technologies in hospital care requires collaborative innovation among multiple actors both within and beyond hospitals. Our research investigates the question: what does it take to foster collaborative innovation within a traditionally siloed and closed health information infrastructure? Empirical findings are derived from three cases, which we analyze by focusing on how innovation relates to interfaces with hospitals’ information infrastructures. We draw on literature on digital platforms and innovation ecosystems and focus on the notion of boundary resources to characterize these innovation interfaces. While this notion has mainly addressed the concerns of platform owners for ‘securing’ and ‘resourcing’ their platforms, our analysis also points to resources related to peripheral actors’ needs, specifically ‘discovering’ and ‘vesting’ resources. Discovering resources assist innovators in making sense of possibilities and limitations, while vesting resources relate to value appropriation. These resources are crucial for collaborative innovation in existing hospital information infrastructures.

Share

COinS
 

Collaborative Innovation in Healthcare: Boundary Resources for Peripheral Actors

Realizing the potential of digital technologies in hospital care requires collaborative innovation among multiple actors both within and beyond hospitals. Our research investigates the question: what does it take to foster collaborative innovation within a traditionally siloed and closed health information infrastructure? Empirical findings are derived from three cases, which we analyze by focusing on how innovation relates to interfaces with hospitals’ information infrastructures. We draw on literature on digital platforms and innovation ecosystems and focus on the notion of boundary resources to characterize these innovation interfaces. While this notion has mainly addressed the concerns of platform owners for ‘securing’ and ‘resourcing’ their platforms, our analysis also points to resources related to peripheral actors’ needs, specifically ‘discovering’ and ‘vesting’ resources. Discovering resources assist innovators in making sense of possibilities and limitations, while vesting resources relate to value appropriation. These resources are crucial for collaborative innovation in existing hospital information infrastructures.