Title: Stakeholder dynamics and the implementation of process innovations: the case of Lean thinking in a UK NHS Hospital Trust

Authors: Thanos Papadopoulos, Yasmin Merali

Addresses: Knowledge and Information Systems Management Group, School of Management, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ Southampton, UK. ' Warwick Business School, The University of Warwick, CV4 7AL Coventry, UK

Abstract: This paper addresses the dynamics and mechanisms underpinning the trajectories and outcomes of process innovation. It deploys actor-network theory to explore the role of emergent stakeholder dynamics and networks in shaping the trajectory and outcomes of a project to implement Lean thinking (Lean) in a theatres unit of a UK National Health Service hospital. It traces the process of network formation, stabilisation and maintenance over time, and shows that different meanings for Lean become manifest during the implementation process, manifested through the emergence and mobilisation of a global and a local network that interact with each other using the project as a negotiation space in order to achieve their diverse interests.

Keywords: actor-network theory; healthcare management; lean thinking; process innovation; stakeholder dynamics; UK NHS Hospital Trusts; United Kingdom; National Health Service.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHTM.2009.030453

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 2009 Vol.10 No.4/5, pp.303 - 324

Published online: 16 Dec 2009 *

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