The increasing use of messaging applications such as WhatsApp for both social and personal purposes has determined an increase in the widespread use of these technologies, even in healthcare. A growing number of healthcare professionals have adopted WhatsApp in their daily work in order to share information with peers and patients. Past research has highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of WhatsApp usage in healthcare settings; in particular two positions appear to coexist in the scientific debate: those that expose and underline all of the positive aspects of the phenomenon, and those which also highlight the negative aspects, linked in particular to the clinical risks for patients, data security and privacy protection. The main objective of this study was to assess if and how individual and organizational determinants can trigger or inhibit the use of WhatsApp in a hospital setting, and which variables managers can exploit to guide professionals’ behaviors. Data were collected through a survey administered to physicians and nurses in an Italian University Hospital in Rome; a total of 191 high-quality responses were received. The results show that WhatsApp is widely used in the Hospital, and that its use is mainly due to the perception of numerous advantages and benefits reported in clinical practice. Moreover, an interplay exists between organizational and individual factors in determining the use of WhatsApp between healthcare professionals and with patients. In particular, individual factors play a key role as determinants of the use of WhatsApp; healthcare professionals use this technology mainly based on its perceived usefulness. Instead, organizational factors play a secondary role; they do not have a direct influence on the use of WhatsApp, but always act through individual factors. This study is the first to analyses the influence of individual and organizational determinants of WhatsApp usage in the hospital setting, and provides hospital managers with important information in order to manage this phenomenon and implement adequate strategies to exploit its potential increase.
Purpose – This study seeks to further the current debate about how to systematically improve hospital performance by enhancing and balancing knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation\ud capabilities through the development of an electronic medical record (EMR).\ud Design/methodology/approach – The study has an interpretative, inductive perspective, based on multiple and embedded case studies. Three large size Italian hospitals that have introduced an EMR were considered. Evidence was gathered by triangulating multiple sources of evidence.\ud Findings – Three emergent strategies of EMR development are identified. Pros and cons of each strategy are stated and a set of propositions to be tested in further research are formulated. These\ud results provide hospital managers and professionals with clearer guidelines about how to improve performance by implementing a tailored strategy to balance knowledge exploration and knowledge\ud exploitation through the development of an EMR.\ud Originality/value – Most of the literature on EMRs is focused on the benefits, the barriers and the enablers of their adoption. Little is understood about how hospital managers and professionals might\ud leverage on the EMR to ambidextrously combine knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation, and thus increase hospital performance. The study addresses this gap and offers original insights to advance both theory and practice
Literature has paid little attention to new sources of social media innovation Analyzing social media startups helps drawing the field's innovation paths Social media startups are more focused on pure social network services Social media management is emerging as key area for social media startups Social media startups often develop open innovation relations with incumbents
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how digital technologies can help healthcare organisations and improve the exploration-exploitation paradox over time. The authors explore inputs, processes and outcomes of implementing digital transformation programs and advance four testable propositions. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted multiple case studies with embedded units of analysis: digital transformation processes; hospitals; and regional healthcare systems. Primary sources come from 107 semi-structured interviews with key informants within 14 Italian hospitals between 2009 through 2011. Findings Three complementary paths emerge as fundamental to balance exploratory and exploitatory efforts in healthcare: assets digitalisation within hospitals; digitally based process integration; and disruptive decision-making through analytics. Intra- and inter-path characteristics are discussed to show how digital transformation can both move hospital within the exploration-exploitation space. Research limitations/implications By its very nature, this study is exploratory. Notwithstanding the number of cases and interviews, its generalisability is limited. Practical implications Digital transformation programs are fundamental to resolve the tensions raised by the exploration-exploitation paradox. Their implementation leads to better performance (cost reductions, quality improvements). A framework is provided for practitioners to make better decisions. Originality/value This study sheds new light on how digital technologies are actually adopted and adapted in healthcare contexts. It does it by entailing a longitudinal perspective.
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