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Challenges and Opportunities in Health Care Management pp 211–221Cite as

Adoption and Diffusion of Innovations in Health Care

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the theory and practice of adoption and diffusion of innovation. It has a healthcare sector emphasis and is aimed for readers who are new to the field of innovation. The chapter offers a broad overview of the literature on the adoption of complex organizational and technological innovations in health systems. In doing so, it summarizes the most commonly used perspectives that explain the factors that determine the fate of the innovation process, namely the characteristics of the innovation, the adopter characteristics and health care system and innovation context characteristics. The strategic importance of these perspectives in determining successful diffusion of innovation is discussed in detail. A framework is constructed that offers guidance and support to those responsible for managing innovation projects.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business and Economics, Chair for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany

    Ronny Reinhardt & Nadine Hietschold

  2. Department of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour, Henley Business School, Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 3AU, England

    Dimitrios Spyridonidis

Authors
  1. Ronny Reinhardt
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  2. Nadine Hietschold
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  3. Dimitrios Spyridonidis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronny Reinhardt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research Group InnoTech4Health, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    Sebastian Gurtner

  2. University of Cooperative Education, Riesa, Sachsen, Germany

    Katja Soyez

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Reinhardt, R., Hietschold, N., Spyridonidis, D. (2015). Adoption and Diffusion of Innovations in Health Care. In: Gurtner, S., Soyez, K. (eds) Challenges and Opportunities in Health Care Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12178-9_17

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