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Interlocking Interactions, the Diffusion of Innovations in Health Care

Department of HRM, De Montfort University, lfhum{at}dmu.ac.uk

Ewan Ferlie

Centre for Public Services Organizations and School Director of Research at Imperial College Management School, University of London, e.ferlie{at}ic.ac.uk

Martin Wood

Centre for Leadership Studies at the University of Exeter, M.A.Wood{at}exeter.ac.uk

Chris Hawkins

Centre for Creativity Strategy and Change at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

This article aims to provide a reassessment of the processes of diffusion of innovations into organizations, based on new empirical data. The focus of the article is the latter stages of the diffusion process. The article draws on the results of two studies, which examined the diffusion of innovations in health care in the UK. These projects were a matched pair of qualitative studies, using purposeful selections of comparative case studies. The results demonstrate the ambiguous, contested nature of new scientific knowledge. The highly interactive nature of diffusion, with active adopters is illustrated. There is no evidence of a single adoption decision. The science is socially mediated. The features of context and of actors interlock to influence diffusion.

Key Words: context • diffusion • health care • innovation • professionals

Human Relations, Vol. 55, No. 12, 1429-1449 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/001872602128782213


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