Interorganizational innovation and collaboration in the UK medical device sector

Interorganizational team research is a growing body of literature and research has started toexamine team related factors such as interorganizational trust (i.e. Stock, 2006) in theinterorganizational setting. This research applies insights from the intraorganizational teamfield into the interorganizational team setting in order to determine the team related factorspertaining to effective collaboration in medical device innovation projects.Interorganizational collaboration has been a persistent feature within the interorganizationalrelations literature, due to the added benefits that can come with working collaborativelytowards a common goal (Berg-Weger & Schnieder, 1998). While much research has exploredthe structures and performance outcomes of engaging in this cross-boundary working, theliterature is sparse with respect to interpersonal relationships, practices and processes leadingto effective collaboration (Bergenholtz & Waldstrom, 2011; Majchrzak, Jarvenpaa & Bargherz,2015). An interpretivist perspective has informed an exploratory mixed methods approach to datacollection, with contextual insights informing each phase of data collection. Three exploratoryphases of data collection have provided (1) qualitative ethnography data, (1i) qualitativeinterview data and (2) quantitative survey data. The NHS has recently set out agendas to increase innovative procurement (Department ofHealth, 2008), work more closely with industry and SMEs (Innovation and Procurement Plan:Department of Health, 2009) and to increase innovative practice (IHW: NHS, 2011). SMEsdeveloping novel medical devices require input from the NHS to ensure that their devices areclinically applicable and therefore will be adopted by the NHS. These contextual insightsprovide the backdrop for Studies 1i and 2. The findings suggest that the intraorganizational team literature can be extended into theinterorganizational collaboration literature, whilst also explaining the factors relating toeffectiveness and success of interorganizational team innovation.

Learning to collaborate:a study of individual and organizational learning, and interorganizational relationships

This paper examines learning to collaborate in the context of industrial supply relationships. Evidence of collaboration, and individual and organizational learning, from an in-depth case study of a large organization and its relations with two key suppliers is discussed. Analytic methods developed to elicit such evidence and provide insights into learning processes and outcomes are presented. It is argued that it is possible for an organization and individuals to learn to develop resilient collaborative relationships, but this requires a more thorough consideration and understanding of issues such as trust, commitment and teamwork than has been typical to date. Suggestions for future practice and research are presented.

Trust as a mediator of the relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes:test of a social exchange model

Data obtained from full-time employees of a public sector organization in India were used to test a social exchange model of employee work attitudes and behaviors. LISREL results revealed that whereas the three organizational justice dimensions (distributive, procedural and interactional) were related to trust in organization only interactional justice was related to trust in supervisor. The results further revealed that relative to the hypothesized fully mediated model a partially mediated model better fitted the data. Trust in organization partially mediated the relationship between distributive and procedural justice and the work attitudes of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment but fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and these work attitudes. In contrast, trust in supervisor fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and the work behaviors of task performance and the individually- and organizationally-oriented dimensions of citizenship behavior.

Patients and doctors working together in partnership:Birch v UCL Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2008] EWHC 2237 (QB)

Of the myriad of pressing topics current in medical law and ethics, the issue of informed consent appears to be the ‘plainer sibling’. The decision by Cranston J in Birch v UCL Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in 2008 has brought into sharp relief that which many commentators already held to be true. Far from being the ‘plainer sibling’ when weighed against other prominent issues in medical law and ethics, the doctrine of informed consent, is one of the most significant principles to emerge in recent years.

W Primary Care Trust v TB & Ors [2009] EWHC 1737

The primary issue in this case related to TB’s clear and expressed desire to leave V, in order that she might be admitted to an NHS hospital for treatment of what she believed to be a physical, as opposed to a psychological, condition...

Enterprise resource planning and the post bureaucratic organization:'formalization' as trust in the system versus 'solidarity' as trust in individuals

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to use a case study setting involving the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to expose and analyze the conflicts in the characterizations of the post bureaucratic organisation (PBO) in the literature. ERP implementations are often accompanied by increasing levels of stress in organizations that place pressures on organizational relationships and structures. Additionally, ERPs are regarded as introducing their own techno-logic of centralization, standardization and formalization that provides an apparent contrast to the exhortations about employee empowerment. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of ERP implementation in a medium-sized entity is presented. The paper explores aspects of ERP and PBO from the context of postmodern organization theory. Findings – Some concerns about PBO identified in the literature are reflected in the case situation. For example, there is a commitment to give up private time and work flexibly by some employees. The paper also provides evidence of the way the management team substitute their reliance on a key individual knowledge worker for that of an ERP system and external vendor support. Paradoxically, trust in that same knowledge worker and between core users of the system is essential to enable the implementation of the system. Originality/value – This paper adds empirical insight to a predominantly theoretical literature. The case evidence indicates some conflicting implications in the concurrent adoption of PBO and ERP.

The role of trust in the resource allocation process of an old university

Allocation procedures, have attracted considerable interest among higher education institutions in recent years. Relevant previous research indicates that several universities adopt different approaches to the resource allocation problem, employing models and procedures that reflect their organisational arrangements and their internal socio – political dynamics. We argue that while studying accounting processes in their organisational context, the role of trust should also be considered carefully. In particular, it is very important to consider the attitudes of the individuals involved and interacting within organisational processes, and especially the trust between them, which plays an important role to the overall good governance of these processes. In our study, the role of interpersonal trust in an old Scottish University resource allocation process is examined. The study indicates that trust is a very necessary insight to the facilitation of social structures of accountability that enhance a better governance of the resource allocation process.

Implicating trust in the innovation process

In this paper, we describe the development of two new measures of innovation trust, ‘trust that heard’ and ‘trust that benefit’. We report the findings from their use in a survey of design engineers in two large aerospace companies. We test a range of hypotheses covering different plausible roles for trust and confirm a ‘main effects’ model, whereby the variables predict the number of ideas suggested and the number of ideas implemented. In addition, we replicate earlier findings by Axtel et al. (2000), namely that personal and job variables predict idea suggestion, whereas organizational variables predict implementation.