Healthcare Innovation—The Epital: An Ethnographic Study of a Unique Way of Organizing Healthcare Innovation

Authors

  • Louise Hesseldal University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Lars Kayser University of Copenhagen, Denmark

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.12.2.05

Keywords:

Healthcare Innovation, Informal and Inter-Organizational Network, Network, Innovation, Organization, Ethnography

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate about how best to organize healthcare innovation. This article introduces and illustrates an alternative way of doing so by studying an emerging informal and inter-organizational network (IION) in practice. Taking an ethnographic research approach, the authors propose the concept of a potluck feast to de-scribe the nature of an IION and the dynamics within it. The relationship between the project and the actors is explored by introducing Steven Brown’s reading of Michel Serres’ concept of the parasite. The unique way of organizing healthcare innovation studied in the article involves an open, sharing approach, where everyone makes themselves an open resource for the project and where the contribution is determined by the actors’ own motivation rather than regulated by a formal setup and contracts. The article argues that the ethnographic research approach is useful to explore the emergence and dynamics of IIONs. In this way, this article contributes to the field of healthcare innovation and how to organize it, and may inspire those who are already in or intend to study this field.

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Author Biographies

Louise Hesseldal, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Louise Hesseldal has an MSSc degree from Copenhagen Business School (2012). She is working in the field of health and qualitative research, and currently works in Novo Nordisk, project managing the development and implementation of a qualitative research framework in five cities in collaboration with local and global academic institutions. The research framework focuses on unveiling social and cultural determinants in diabetes. She has a particular interest in ethnography and the intersection between health innovation and social science.

Lars Kayser, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Lars Kayser, PhD MD, Board certified specialist in internal medicine. Lars Kayser is an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen where he is the director of Health Informatics study at the University. Lars Kayser is working in the field of Health Informatics and innovation and since 2011 has been affiliated with the Epital project as a research leader. He has a particular interest in health literacy, e-health literacy, and innovative redesign of healthcare provision.

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Published

2016-04-30

How to Cite

Hesseldal, L., & Kayser, L. (2016). Healthcare Innovation—The Epital: An Ethnographic Study of a Unique Way of Organizing Healthcare Innovation. Qualitative Sociology Review, 12(2), 82–99. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.12.2.05

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Articles