Case 2: How to manage innovation in healthcare?
A few days later, Anna and Peter (see Case 1) continue their conversation on innovation, during their
lunch break.
Peter: “Okay, you have convinced me that there is an urgent need for innovation in healthcare. But
how should we manage these innovations?”
Anna: “There are a lot of management books available, and some of them focus entirely on
innovation management. I recently read one of these books and learned that managers need to
address a broad range of factors in managing innovation, ranging from stimulating ideas to
implementing the best ones. They also need to make choices in who to involve and this can differ per
phase.”
Peter: “I am a bit allergic to management books! They always introduce nice theories and
frameworks, which at first seem very useful. But when you want to apply them, you experience that
the healthcare sector is rather complex which makes it very difficult to apply them in daily practice.”
Anna: “I agree that it is difficult. A friend of mine works in the pharmaceutical industry, she always
tells me how complex the development of new drugs is. She also said that the same accounts for
innovations in medical devices. They often have to collaborate with several other organizations and
have to involve the users in the development process. However, in my opinion, an even bigger
challenge in healthcare is managing the development of service innovations.”
Peter: “Why do you think that is such a big challenge?”
Anna: “Sorry, how time flies … I have to hurry … this time my patients are waiting … I’ll get back to
you later!”
Practical application (to be discussed during the post-discussion of case 2)
Last week you had a look at the corona app of Luscii. This company also invented another monitoring
app. Students, divide your group in three subgroups, so that each subgroup covers one of the three
models and can (informally) present their findings during the post-discussion of case 2.
1. Watch the video of this innovation, another monitoring app. https://luscii.com/2020/04/20/luscii-
helps-british-hospital-with-home-health-monitoring-at-lightning-speed/
2. Use one model (pentathlon model, the stage-gate model, or the innovation rocket) to describe
how the development of this app was organized.
3. How do the models differ in their perceptions on innovation? (plenary discussion during the post-
discussion)
Innovation Pentathlon model – fits best with medical devices (and service innovation)
- Ideas generation: use open innovation, to let the patients collaborate with the R&D
department, medical doctors, use part of the already existing tools and software from
corona-app
- Selection: there is an assessment of potential returns; medical doctors and senior managers
of R&D department were involved
- Implementation: cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis
- Innovation strategy (goal): limit the time of doctors’ appointments. Due to the corona virus
the elderly can ‘visit’/be in consultation with the doctor in order to monitor medical status
- People, culture and organization: trying to create a culture and to train the people
Stage-gate model – fits best with drug industry
- Concept generation: identifying the opportunities for new products and services. In this case
it’s about health monitoring and this process took months. However due to the corona virus,
everything accelerates quicker and more possibilities did arise
- Project assessment and selection: screening and choosing options which satisfy certain
criteria. The selection was more focused on COPD patients and in hospitals in the UK.
Because of the quick growth and development, it can open up possibilities for other
healthcare monitoring programs
, - Development: translating concepts and options into a product and testing the winning ideas
- Commercialization: launching and marketing the new product. Via commercials or leaflets
the system will be marketed
Innovation rocket – fits best with service innovation (and medical devices)
- Destination: to help people in quarantine times which need to stay at home to reach out to
their doctor from home
- Combustion: there already existed some experience with monitoring apps for people so they
can do more self-care at home. The combination of the corona-app and a monitoring app
formed a new kind of app which was needed badly for fragile people with weak immune
systems
- Nozzle: based on the corona crisis they really had to speed up the process and come up with
an idea in order to maintain the health of these people who were forced to stay at home
- Expander: the best idea in winning mixes, don’t test it too far but just test it in the market.
True because they had no time due to the coronavirus, so they provide it on the market
within no time
What is innovation management?
Innovation management (in general)
The innovation management discipline studies the management of innovation processes and
contains quantitative and qualitative theories, tools and techniques to make businesses and
entrepreneurs more innovative as well as more successful in their innovation activities
Innovation management is the use of the right business models which are essentially enabling
devices to allow inventors to profit from their ideas
What are the different phases in the process of innovation?
Different phases of innovation. What are common phases when managing an innovation?
Every innovation must be managed through a number of phases (Goffin & Mitchell, 2017)
- Generating ideas
o Input of ideas for new products, services or processes
o Some directly filtered out/other further developed
- Selecting the best ideas
o Promising ideas are selected and developed into concepts
o Potential market will be explored
o Best design is considered
o Assessment of investment needed and potential returns
- Implementation – development and termination if needed
o Management decides which new products, services, processes, business models or
any combination of these, will be developed
o Unsuccessful implementation projects are terminated
- Bringing successes to the market
o Based on successful implementation projects, new products, services, processes, etc.
are brought to the market
The typical phases of innovation: ‘the development funnel’ (Goffin & Mitchell, 2017)
