Navigating collaborative open innovation projects: Staging negotiations of actors' concerns

The integration of human and non-human actors to advance healthcare delivery: unpacking the role of actor-network theory, a systematic literature review

BACKGROUND

There is an increasing public, societal and policy imperative for effective integration of healthcare delivery systems. Central to integration in healthcare is a focus on people-centred health, access, patient empowerment, interprofessional teamwork and collaboration between all healthcare stakeholders - difficult to achieve in current silo-driven bureaucratic health organisations. Therefore, actor-network theory (ANT) offers a theoretical approach to understanding the complexities of healthcare delivery by unpacking the type of actor's interplay between social elements and immaterial objects, their interactions, interdependencies and power dynamics.

AIMS

The first of its type, this systematic review aims to identify, synthesise, and appraise extant literature on the use and application of ANT in healthcare contexts.

METHODS

This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and registered with PROSPERO. The authors generated a search strategy utilising 31 Boolean terms, conducting electronic searches of MEDLINE, CINAHL Complete, SCOPUS, PubMed, APA PsycINFO, Business Source Complete and Academic Search Complete. The studies obtained were evaluated for inclusion based on their alignment with the specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies were independently evaluated by the authors, with all data synthesised using a thematic analysis.

RESULTS

From an initial 2,533 studies, the systematic review included 103 studies which utilised ANT within a healthcare context. The analysis of the studies identified trends in the application of ANT across healthcare which we categorised into four themes: healthcare delivery systems, technology and data, integrated care, and innovation management. The findings demonstrated variability and fragmentation in the application of ANT, often diverging from its fundamental principles.

CONCLUSIONS

Decluttering the literature suggests three dimensions for understanding the relationships of actors, unidimensional ANT - based on single actors, bi-dimensional ANT, the relationship between two actors and multi-dimensional ANT, where human and non-human actors interact to impact healthcare outcomes. The limited number of studies on the use of ANT for integrated healthcare research highlights both its importance to the topic and the considerable research gap that must be addressed.

The role of open innovation in addressing resource constraints in healthcare: a systematic literature review

PURPOSE

The resource crisis in healthcare can be alleviated by engaging external stakeholders and resources in healthcare delivery. The authors use value and open innovation concepts to understand what motivates the stakeholders to join the healthcare innovation ecosystem and what value such an ecosystem brings to healthcare.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

A systematic literature review following the PRISMA framework method was applied to reach the research objective. Out of a total of 509 identified articles published till 2021, 25 were selected as relevant for this review.

FINDINGS

Six categories of actors were identified, including innovation intermediaries, which were so far neglected in the healthcare innovation literature. Furthermore, patients, healthcare providers, innovation suppliers, investors and influencers were described. The authors also distinguished internal and external stakeholders. The authors show why and how open innovation projects contribute to involving external stakeholders and resources in healthcare delivery by contributing to patient autonomy, relationship building, knowledge transfer, improving collaborative mindset and culture, advancing know-how and bringing additional finances.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This article is the first one to systematically describe the value of open innovation in healthcare. The authors challenge the positivist approach in value presented by value-based healthcare. The authors show how openness contributes to addressing the resource crisis by involving new stakeholders and resources in the care delivery process.