The third practice deals with continuous dialogues, reflections, and the allowance for an evolutionary adoption process. In most of the training held at SkaS, a tight connection to the workplace and daily work has been evident. There has been reason to test and reflect upon theories, because the relevance of knowledge is judged in its application. At the hospital, efforts have been made to support these engagements through structural practices like dialogue meetings and strengthening of the improvement facilitator role. Hence, strategies have been created and re-created in relations and conversations, mostly in line with the evolutionary perspective on management innovations presented by Zbaracki (1998) and Birkinshaw et al. (2008). To support this continuous development, management should aim to secure meeting places for fruitful dialogues concerning improvement. Dialogue meetings and strengthening of the improvement facilitator role have likely been critical to reaching a state in which the management innovation becomes institutionalized and new ways of working can be sustained.
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A fourth critical practice is the need to build new competence, which in this case was supported by creating a new profession of improvement experts. In addition to studying the innovation process, Birkinshaw et al. (2008) points to the influence of the individuals – external and internal – who shape the innovation process. As argued by Batalden and Stoltz (1993) the traditional “professional knowledge” in healthcare must be complemented by “improvement knowledge.” Improvement knowledge is rather new in healthcare and hence requires external change agents. However, as in the case of SkaS, a critical task for the external change agents is to identify, educate, and establish internal change agents that can continuously drive improvements at the hospital. As stated earlier, SkaS adopted improvement knowledge in a research-oriented manner. This approach to developing internal change agents is based on engagement in action research projects. In these projects, external and internal change agents are jointly involved in exploring what improvement knowledge can mean at this hospital – that is, exploring “knowledge in action” (Coghlan and Brannick, 2010). These studies, intended to contribute to actionable knowledge and the local problem-solving capacity, have been applied as an integrated part of improvement knowledge.
The action research approach and its focus on joint action-reflection loops (Aagaard, Nielsen, and Svensson, 2006) have together driven improvement knowledge adoption and become part of the management innovation itself. The reflective dialogues exemplify action-reflection loops aimed at building context-specific knowledge. This effect is similar to what Birkinshaw et al. (2008) emphasize in their model on implementation of management innovation – namely, the problem-driven search, trial and error, and reflective experimenting.
The fifth critical practice has been the focus on research-driven approach to the adoption of a management innovation – which is appealing for an evidence-driven profession. In their papers, both Batalden and Stoltz (1993) and Boyer and Pronovost (2010) highlight the differences between professional knowledge (medicine and nursing) and improvement knowledge. Tension exists between the focus on “evidence” in the medical profession (Berwick, 2008), and the focus on change and learning from failures when working with improvements (Cannon and Edmondson, 2005). In our study, we show how these two fields can be successfully integrated by focussing on the organization’s own knowledge development. It also highlights the importance of the involvement of senior physicians in the improvement work, as pointed out by Chakraborty and Tan (2012). In the future, it would be of interest to study adoption of improvement knowledge as a management innovation in other hospitals, as well as in other professional organizations, such as universities or law firms.
Conclusions
The purpose of this paper was to study critical practices when adopting improvement knowledge as a management innovation in a professional organization. In the hospital studied, improvement knowledge has been a part of a transformation based on changes in structures and processes. Considering improvement knowledge to be management innovation, the witnessed transformation demonstrates that an evolutionary perspective on innovation is needed – one in which the management innovation shapes and is shaped by the context. In the case studied in this paper, changes occurred in the organizational structure, processes, and achieved outcomes.
Improvement knowledge in healthcare
1199
Downloaded by National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) At 21:07 24 August 2015 (PT)
BPMJ 21,5
1200
Through studying the hospital as a professional organization adopting improvement knowledge as a management innovation, five critical practices have been identified:
(1) it is essential for a professional organization to develop its own vocabulary capturing its view of the management innovation;
(2) to gain acceptance for a new way of working, internal change agents are critical;
(3) it is critical to allow for an evolutionary adoption process involving continuous dialogues and reflections;
(4) these agents need to build new competence, which in this case was supported by creating a new profession of improvement experts; and
(5) in an organization striving for evidence-based actions, a research-driven approach to the adoption of a management innovation has proven beneficial, because it aids in gaining acceptance for the new way of working.
The third practice deals with continuous dialogues, reflections, and the allowance for an evolutionary adoption process. In most of the training held at SkaS, a tight connection to the workplace and daily work has been evident. There has been reason to test and reflect upon theories, because the relevance of knowledge is judged in its application. At the hospital, efforts have been made to support these engagements through structural practices like dialogue meetings and strengthening of the improvement facilitator role. Hence, strategies have been created and re-created in relations and conversations, mostly in line with the evolutionary perspective on management innovations presented by Zbaracki (1998) and Birkinshaw et al. (2008). To support this continuous development, management should aim to secure meeting places for fruitful dialogues concerning improvement. Dialogue meetings and strengthening of the improvement facilitator role have likely been critical to reaching a state in which the management innovation becomes institutionalized and new ways of working can be sustained.Downloaded by National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) At 21:07 24 August 2015 (PT)A fourth critical practice is the need to build new competence, which in this case was supported by creating a new profession of improvement experts. In addition to studying the innovation process, Birkinshaw et al. (2008) points to the influence of the individuals – external and internal – who shape the innovation process. As argued by Batalden and Stoltz (1993) the traditional “professional knowledge” in healthcare must be complemented by “improvement knowledge.” Improvement knowledge is rather new in healthcare and hence requires external change agents. However, as in the case of SkaS, a critical task for the external change agents is to identify, educate, and establish internal change agents that can continuously drive improvements at the hospital. As stated earlier, SkaS adopted improvement knowledge in a research-oriented manner. This approach to developing internal change agents is based on engagement in action research projects. In these projects, external and internal change agents are jointly involved in exploring what improvement knowledge can mean at this hospital – that is, exploring “knowledge in action” (Coghlan and Brannick, 2010). These studies, intended to contribute to actionable knowledge and the local problem-solving capacity, have been applied as an integrated part of improvement knowledge.The action research approach and its focus on joint action-reflection loops (Aagaard, Nielsen, and Svensson, 2006) have together driven improvement knowledge adoption and become part of the management innovation itself. The reflective dialogues exemplify action-reflection loops aimed at building context-specific knowledge. This effect is similar to what Birkinshaw et al. (2008) emphasize in their model on implementation of management innovation – namely, the problem-driven search, trial and error, and reflective experimenting.The fifth critical practice has been the focus on research-driven approach to the adoption of a management innovation – which is appealing for an evidence-driven profession. In their papers, both Batalden and Stoltz (1993) and Boyer and Pronovost (2010) highlight the differences between professional knowledge (medicine and nursing) and improvement knowledge. Tension exists between the focus on “evidence” in the medical profession (Berwick, 2008), and the focus on change and learning from failures when working with improvements (Cannon and Edmondson, 2005). In our study, we show how these two fields can be successfully integrated by focussing on the organization’s own knowledge development. It also highlights the importance of the involvement of senior physicians in the improvement work, as pointed out by Chakraborty and Tan (2012). In the future, it would be of interest to study adoption of improvement knowledge as a management innovation in other hospitals, as well as in other professional organizations, such as universities or law firms.ConclusionsThe purpose of this paper was to study critical practices when adopting improvement knowledge as a management innovation in a professional organization. In the hospital studied, improvement knowledge has been a part of a transformation based on changes in structures and processes. Considering improvement knowledge to be management innovation, the witnessed transformation demonstrates that an evolutionary perspective on innovation is needed – one in which the management innovation shapes and is shaped by the context. In the case studied in this paper, changes occurred in the organizational structure, processes, and achieved outcomes.Improvement knowledge in healthcare1199Downloaded by National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) At 21:07 24 August 2015 (PT)BPMJ 21,51200Through studying the hospital as a professional organization adopting improvement knowledge as a management innovation, five critical practices have been identified:(1) it is essential for a professional organization to develop its own vocabulary capturing its view of the management innovation;(2) to gain acceptance for a new way of working, internal change agents are critical;(3) it is critical to allow for an evolutionary adoption process involving continuous dialogues and reflections;(4) these agents need to build new competence, which in this case was supported by creating a new profession of improvement experts; and(5) in an organization striving for evidence-based actions, a research-driven approach to the adoption of a management innovation has proven beneficial, because it aids in gaining acceptance for the new way of working.
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