Sebastian Gurtner

Measuring critical success factors of TQM implementation successfully – a systematic literature review

In times of globalisation and international trade, the concept of total quality management (TQM) as a strategy to enhance organisational performance is growing in importance. To exploit the benefits provided by TQM, organisations must manage the complex implementation process successfully. Therefore, organisations need to measure critical success factors (CSFs) when introducing TQM. However, previous research has developed a plethora of measurement instruments and researchers do not agree on certain factors or on one single measurement instrument. A systematic literature review is conducted to structure and clarify the scattered research field. The analysis of 145 studies reveals that CSFs can be classified into 11 distinct dimensions. The article proposes a three-level framework and a holistic set of measurement instruments to help researchers and managers measure each critical dimension in a timely and comprehensive manner. A focus group consisting of six quality managers validated these results. The study concludes with further findings and future research. Deficiencies of current measurements are presented and the article discusses the finding that human related factors are regarded as highly relevant but have remained low on many researchers’ and practitioners’ agendas. Hence, this article is a major contribution to structure the complex research field of measuring CSFs of TQM implementation.

Understanding shortages of sufficient health care in rural areas

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Despite efforts to provide comprehensive health care services and reduce inequalities, most developed countries face serious challenges in achieving comprehensive health care delivery in rural areas. The purpose of this study is to characterize health care shortages in the rural areas of developed countries and to comprehensively explore the underlying reasons for these shortages. METHODS AND SAMPLE To answer the research questions, we conducted a systematic literature review. The content analysis included 176 papers on the topic of rural health care. The thematic-analysis approach revealed key aspects of health care shortages in rural areas and evidence regarding the reasons for these shortages. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION Shortages of sufficient health care in rural areas were clustered into the following five categories: provider shortages, maldistribution, quality deficiencies, access limitations and the inefficient utilization of health care services. The reasons for the occurrence of these shortage problems are manifold and are related to physical/infrastructural, professional, educational, social-cultural, economic and political issues. This paper contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the health care problems in rural areas by creating an integrated framework that examines several aspects of shortages in sufficient health care in rural areas as well as their underlying reasons. The results provide directions for future research and specific advice for policy makers.

From roles to skills - key persons in the innovation process

The objective of this paper is to show that key persons can lead innovations to success if their skills match the barriers innovations have to face. The roles Promotors are classified in (e.g., Promotor of Power), do not always reflect either the provided or the necessary skills and therefore cannot be used to measure the appropriate Promotor input in the innovation process. By focusing on skills, we present the Promotor-Cubus, which helps analyse the existing barriers and the skills provided.

Challenges and Opportunities in Health Care Management

This contributed volume draws a vital picture of the health care sector, which, like no other is affected by technology push and stakeholder pull. Innovative product and service solutions emerge, which have to integrate different stakeholders interests. This book studies current challenges in health care management from different perspectives. Research articles analyze the situation in the health care sector and present solutions in the following areas: the health care system; hospitals; teams in health care; patients perspectives; assessment of technologies and innovations; and toolkits for organizing health care. All these contributions summarize pressing hot topics in the health care sector, analyze their future potential, and derive managerial implications. Outstanding best practices throughout Europe are presented in the case study section of the book. Consequently, the book closes the gap between science and practical application by addressing not only readers from academia but also practitioners working in the health care industry.

Overcoming resistance to innovations: an approach for the use of communication tools within the innovation process

The objective of this article is to show the need for a situation-adapted use of specific communication tools within the different phases of the innovation process. Therefore, this research provides an approach on how activities, objectives and resistance change during the innovation process. Eventually, it is shown how a key person can use specific communication tools to foster innovation and overcome internal resistance.

Open Innovation in Health Care

Traditionally, the dominant form of innovation required that firms generate ideas internally and subsequently develop and market resulting products themselves. Yet, this mode of innovation is not always the best solution, because a single firm might not possess all relevant knowledge or capabilities. The open innovation concept, therefore, postulates that ideas and knowledge should be used as both inputs and outputs for the innovation process. In contrast to other industries, the health care industry holds peculiarities that influence and restrict the open innovation concept. This chapter analyses existing literature to describe the current state of research for open innovation in general and to specifically analyze health care industry characteristics. We discuss differences in organizations, norms, regulations and data protection, intellectual property (IP) protection culture as well as innovation complexity and information asymmetry. In addition, we present solutions for each of these peculiarities to develop a comprehensive understanding of open innovation in health care.

Stakeholder integration in new product development: a systematic analysis of drivers and firm capabilities

In this article, we develop a conceptual model of stakeholder integration in new product development (NPD) that (i) explains the drivers of the process and (ii) proposes a framework of capabilities that firms need for successful stakeholder integration. The focus lies on external stakeholders that directly influence the adoption of new products. We conduct a systematic literature review and content analyze a sample of 96 peer-reviewed journal articles. The study is restricted to the medical device industry to enable the use of specific search terms and the consistent categorization of information. We dedicate a section to showing how the framework applies to other settings. The drivers of stakeholder integration are classified into push factors (i.e., expected benefits for the focal firm) and pull factors (i.e., expected benefits for the stakeholders). This study provides an initial model of how stakeholder integration works based on its drivers. In addition, three related stakeholder integration capabilities emerge: stakeholder identification capability, stakeholder interaction capability and stakeholder input integration capability. The paper proposes a description of these capabilities for stakeholder integration in NPD and, thus, contributes to stakeholder theory and research on the management of NPD. The results open new paths for empirical testing and offer practical guidance on how to successfully integrate stakeholders in NPD processes.

Measuring the Success of Open Innovation

Managers and researchers agree that innovations are necessary for a firm to endure within a global and competitive environment (Mirow & Linz 2000; Davila et al. 2005). The process of generating innovations, however, has changed significantly. The innovation process is determined by the constantly changing environment, the availability of private venture capital, and increased cooperation between companies and their suppliers (Chesbrough 2003).

Stakeholder Variety in Healthcare and Their Integration in the Medical Device Development Process

The innovation process of medical devices is not easily manageable and already the early stages of the innovation process decide on the duration and costs of product development. A great challenge for medical device developers is the variety of stakeholders that are included in the development process. In order to ensure that all stakeholders accept the new medical devices, developers have to consider their specific needs and have to overcome a few challenges: first, the stakeholder identification including their needs, opportunities and challenges of working together and second, the stakeholder integration focusing on the stages of the medical device development process (MDDP) and methods for user integration.

Adapting Scott and Bruce’s General Decision-Making Style Inventory to Patient Decision Making in Provider Choice

Objective. Research testing the concept of decision-making styles in specific contexts such as health care–related choices is missing. Therefore, we examine the contextuality of Scott and Bruce’s (1995) General Decision-Making Style Inventory with respect to patient choice situations. Methods. Scott and Bruce’s scale was adapted for use as a patient decision-making style inventory. In total, 388 German patients who underwent elective joint surgery responded to a questionnaire about their provider choice. Confirmatory factor analyses within 2 independent samples assessed factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the scale. Results. The final 4-dimensional, 13-item patient decision-making style inventory showed satisfactory psychometric properties. Data analyses supported reliability and construct validity. Besides the intuitive, dependent, and avoidant style, a new subdimension, called “comparative” decision-making style, emerged that originated from the rational dimension of the general model. Conclusions. This research provides evidence for the contextuality of decision-making style to specific choice situations. Using a limited set of indicators, this report proposes the patient decision-making style inventory as valid and feasible tool to assess patients’ decision propensities.