Paper Info
Title
Continuous Innovation Through Lean Thinking In Healthcare: The Role Of Dynamic Actor Associations
Abstract
This paper focuses on continuous innovation in healthcare examining the implementation of lean thinking in the English National Health Service (NHS). Using interviews and non-participant observations, this study focuses on the dynamics of actor associations as they are manifested in the efficiency innovations in specimen turnaround times in a pathology unit of an NHS hospital, under actor-network theory principles. We illustrate the emergence of continuous innovation as an actor-network, which is responsible for creating the necessary conditions and behavioural changes for continuous innovation. Furthermore, we explicate the mechanism of translation to represent the 'glue' that keeps the corresponding actors together, contributing to the success of lean in the hospital and subsequently continuous innovation.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.1504/IJTM.2012.049442
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
Keywords
Field
DocType
continuous innovation, lean thinking, dynamics, translation, actor-network theory, ANT
Health care,Economics,Knowledge management,Actor–network theory,Lean manufacturing,National health service,Marketing
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
60
3-4
0267-5730
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
6
Authors
1
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Thanos Papadopoulos119717.90