Healthcare 4.0: trends,challenges and research directions

Abstract

This paper aims at examining the trends, challenges and theoretical gaps in the implementation of Healthcare 4.0 (H4.0) based on a scoping review of the literature. For that, we searched journal articles in four widely known databases and screened the retrieved articles to obtain a publications’ portfolio. Our findings indicate that, despite the recency of the subject, research in H4.0 has been conducted in an interdisciplinary way with a diversified set of applications and functionalities. In terms of its implementation, H4.0 has been more commonly found in hospitals’ information flows, especially the ones related to healthcare treatments. The identified implementation trends, however, neglect a more holistic approach for H4.0, which originated three main research directions for this topic. Although identified as a trending topic in the area of healthcare operations management, literature on H4.0 may be viewed as randomly conceived, lacking academic alignment and practical orientation based on a grounded theory, which we aim at providing with the present study.     

Evolution of industry 4.0 and international business: A systematic literature review and a research agenda

Industry 4.0 has attracted significant attention from researchers in the international business field for a decade. This paper critically analyzes the literature on the relationships between Industry 4.0 and international business. A systematic literature review of 59 studies published between 2011 and December 2020 is conducted. Using the Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Method (TCCM) framework, the review identifies various gaps in research and proposes future research agenda. The results show that (1) Industry 4.0 modifies specific domains in the field of international competitiveness and organization and (2) international business affects the choices and opportunities of adopting Industry 4.0. The need for further theoretical development in the relationships between international business and Industry 4.0 is observed especially in terms of location choices, global value chains, international organizations and international trade. The results contribute to the relevant research field and provide substantial managerial implications.     

HRD university education: an international research agenda

Based on the observation that the systematic study of university-based HRD education - especially in an international comparative approach - is an important but under-explored area of scholarship, this article reports on the results of a need-sensing process among a panel of twenty-one senior HRD administrators and scholars in the United States and Great Britain. The resulting research agenda identified knowledge gaps and research needs in three broad areas: subject matter of HRD education; institutional characteristics, arrangements, and linkages; and outcomes and effectiveness of HRD education. Several categories were identified in each of the three areas and examples described. The implications of this study for research and theory building in international and comparative HRD are discussed.     

The status of research on teleworking and an agenda for future research

Teleworking is a relatively new mode of alternative work arrangements. During its short life, the study of teleworking gained considerable attention in the literature for both its academic relevance and its practical implications for management. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the developments in this area, studying the nature of teleworking, its antecedents, processes and outcomes. Different models and perspectives are presented and analysed with emphasis shared between both positive and negative aspects. Directions for future research on teleworking issues, as well as recommendations for a new research agenda, are offered within a framework of Why , What and How to explore the future of teleworking.     

Reshaping M&A research: Strategies and tactics for a new research agenda

I apply a cognitive perspective to understand how primary cognitive mechanisms—simplification, elaboration, and interaction—have influenced the way scholars, as individuals and as a community, have queried acquisitions so far. While cognitive mechanisms have played an important role in advancing our grasp of acquisitions, they have also favored the emergence of hidden, taken-for-granted assumptions, eventually resulting in reproducing the same lines of reasoning, applying the same stock of methodological and theoretical approaches, often with a marginal contribution to our understanding of the field. To remedy this state of affairs, I propose a framework that encompasses four strategies and a set of tactics to assist scholars in challenging hidden assumptions, playing with ideas, considering context in acquisitions, and rethinking theoretical frameworks. I contrast established perspectives with novel ones to build a research agenda.     

Market orientation research: a qualitative synthesis and future research agenda

The prominence of market orientation as a core organizational concept, as well as recent discussions about its contributions and shortcomings, suggest that it is time to assess the large and expanding body of research surrounding the construct. Our research takes a systematic qualitative approach to assessing extant research on market orientation, identifying problems, patterns, and paradoxes in the literature. Specifically, we provide an integration of the burgeoning empirical research on market orientation, based on a thorough synthesis of articles published over more than 25 years of inquiry. Bringing together the different strands of inquiry that have guided knowledge accumulation on market orientation, we are able to identify major theoretical gaps and omissions in the literature. We also find that while market orientation research has made considerable strides over the years, much work still needs to be done as voids remain that need to be addressed in future investigations.

     

Performance measurement systems in SMEs: A review for a research agenda

In recent years, literature has identified the increasing complexity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and highlighted their sensitivity to differences in managerial culture and management systems. Research has shown that performance measurement systems (PMSs) could play an important role in supporting managerial development in these companies. In this paper, the literature on performance measurement in manufacturing SMEs is reviewed and the diffusion, characteristics and determinants of performance measurement in SMEs are analysed. Shortcomings in the performance measurement systems are highlighted and the many factors that seem to constrain PMSs in manufacturing SMEs are defined, e.g. lack of financial and human resources, wrong perception of the benefits of PMS implementation, short-term strategic planning. Moreover, using dimensions defined according to the information found in the literature, two PMS models specifically developed for SMEs are compared with generic PMS models. The comparison points out an evolution in PMS models over time; in particular, the models developed in the last 20 years are more horizontal, process-oriented and focus on stakeholder needs. However, it is not clear whether these changes are due to the evolution of the generic models or an attempt to introduce models suited to the needs of SMEs. To clarify this matter and better to understand PMSs in SMEs, further theoretical and empirical studies are necessary. The main issues still requiring investigation are listed in a research agenda at the end of the paper.     

Ethical leadership: Mapping the terrain for concept cleanup and a future research agenda

Ethical leadership has attracted massive attention in the twenty-first century. Yet despite this vast literature, knowledge of ethical leadership suffers from two critical limitations: First, existing conceptualizations conflate ethical leader behaviors with followers' evaluations of leaders' characteristics, values, traits, and followers' cognitions. Second, we know little to nothing regarding the causes and consequences of ethical leadership behaviors as most of the evidence not only confounds concepts, but also precludes causal inferences due to design problems. Thus, we first present a review of the definitions of ethical leadership that alarmingly reveals a hodgepodge of follower evaluations of leader behaviors, traits, and values. We then address this concept confusion by drawing upon signaling theory in presenting a new conceptualization of ethical leadership behavior (ELB) defined as signaling behavior by the leader (individual) targeted at stakeholders (e.g., an individual follower, group of followers, or clients) comprising the enactment of prosocial values combined with expressions of moral emotions. As such, enacting prosocial values and expressing moral emotions are each necessary for ethical leadership. Next, we review the nomological network of ELB at the individual, dyad, and group levels. We conclude with a discussion of future research directions in testing new theoretical models, including a set of theoretical and methodological recommendations.     

Social capital and business and management: Setting a research agenda

This paper adopts the template of systematic reviewing and provides an up-to-date synthesis of the literature on social capital and business and management. The review demonstrates that social capital research is concentrated into three core dimensions: structural, relational and cognitive. First, structural social capital includes social interaction and the frequency of contact and connectivity levels among and between actors' network relations. Secondly, relational social capital refers to the underlying normative conditions of trust, obligation, expectation and identity that guide actors' network relations. Thirdly, cognitive social capital refers to the meaningful contexts of communication among and between actors, and includes the shared language, codes and narratives used to create understanding. However, the rich linkages between structural, relational and cognitive social capital across equivalent/hierarchical social space and geographical boundaries are neglected. A further research focus identified is that the role of face-to-face and the increasingly routine tool of electronic mediated communication may produce different characteristics and levels of social capital. The paper also discusses the ways in which critical realism and mixed methodology may enhance understanding of the process-based linkages between structural, relational and cognitive social capital.     

Talent management as a management fashion in HRD: towards a research agenda

This paper addresses the effects of corporate change programmes on the emotions and ultimately the performance of the so-called ‘middle managers’ within these organizations. Drawing on empirical data from a recent case study in a large engineering company, the paper addresses the extent to which Hochschild's highly original writing on the commercialization of human feeling (1983) and the concept of emotional labour is applicable to managers in today's organizations. Emotional labour is defined as: ‘the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display’ requiring one ‘to induce or suppress feeling in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others’ (Hochschild 1983: 7). The conclusion reached is that emotional labour appears to be a growing but much ignored phenomenon in organizations today, which is worthy of attention and further research by the HRD community.     

External commercialization of knowledge: Review and research agenda

Companies increasingly make use of external knowledge exploitation, i.e. the commercialization of knowledge assets, although they often perceive considerable difficulties in managing external commercialization tasks. These difficulties are partly due to the imperfections in the markets for knowledge, which may be mastered by adequate management, as examples of various well-known companies show. In combination, these facts point to the need for research into external knowledge exploitation. A thorough analysis of past research confirms this need and shows that the existing literature is highly fragmented. By integrating the main findings of the different research streams, a detailed overview of the literature on external knowledge exploitation is established. The key characteristics of externally leveraging knowledge assets are presented, and a research agenda is set up.     

A classification of resources for employee-based value creation and a future research agenda

This conceptual paper aspires to provide a theoretically sound understanding of the value creation process of a specific value network (i.e., firm–employee context). Drawing on service-logic and resource-based frameworks, a classification of four diverse resource types in an organizational context is introduced (i.e., core, augmented, add-on, peripheral resources), based on their exchangeability and their contribution to employees’ value creation and co-creation. This classification enables a better understanding of the nature and the unique features of different firm–employee exchanges in an organizational context, and delineates each type’s distinctive role in employee-based value creation activities. Four propositions derive from this classification; this suggests that not all resource types can be exchanged and that the relative contribution of various firm–employee exchanges to value creation is asymmetrical. A future research agenda is also presented, discussing the potential implications of this classification for contemporary organizations.     

A critical investigation of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing: theoretical operationalisation framework

Increasing global competition on product quality and production costs, and the need for flexibility in production petition for transformed production processes which enable high level of connectivity and integration between business processes and systems. Much of the conventional computer- integrated efforts and advanced manufacturing technologies are limited in scope and restricted to only some organisational areas. Such limited scope, which stems from limited connectivity and integration between manufacturing and enterprise systems, confines the achievement of full potential of these systems within manufacturing. Industry 4.0, characterised by computing developments, can create a platform for addressing integration challenge through enabling comprehensive connectivity. Hence, this paper, through following deductive research paradigm and using systems theory as the theoretical base, aims to investigate recent academic research and industrial reports in the area of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing to provide detailed insights on execution of Industry 4.0, and to propose a theoretical framework for operationalisation of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing.     

University–industry relationships and open innovation: Towards a research agenda

Organizations increasingly rely on external sources of innovation via inter‐organizational network relationships. This paper explores the diffusion and characteristics of collaborative relationships between universities and industry, and develops a research agenda informed by an ‘open innovation’ perspective. A framework is proposed, distinguishing university–industry relationships from other mechanisms such as technology transfer or human mobility. On the basis of the existing body of research, the role of practices such as collaborative research, university–industry research centres, contract research and academic consulting is analysed. The evidence suggests that such university–industry relationships are widely practised, whereby differences exist across industries and scientific disciplines. While most existing research focuses on the effects of university–industry links on innovation‐specific variables such as patents or firm innovativeness, the organizational dynamics of these relationships remain under‐researched. A detailed research agenda addresses research needs in two main areas: search and match processes between universities and firms, and the organization and management of collaborative relationships.     

Performance measurement in the Third Sector: the development of a stakeholder-focussed research agenda

This paper addresses a need for greater insight into the theory and practice of performance measurement (PM) in the Third Sector (TS). Effective PM is crucial to the long-term viability of Third Sector organisations (TSOs), since it provides funders with the requisite evidence to demonstrate value for money and to convince them to provide further funding. It also serves to ensure that vulnerable societal groups receive the social care they need and that the internal management processes of TSOs continuously improve their effectiveness and sustainability. PM research has been scant in this sector and our literature review suggests that no extant models or frameworks are particularly suitable in this context, due in part to the wide range of stakeholders and the distinctive characteristics of TSOs. Drawing on a comprehensive review of the literature, we develop the conceptual foundation of PM in the Third Sector and derive a research agenda that provides a platform for future work. This draws in part on the notions embedded in Stakeholder Theory.     

The future of grand challenges research: Retiring a hopeful concept and endorsing research principles

Editorial notes in leading management journals have urged scholars to address Grand Challenges (GC) as an opportunity for producing knowledge that matters for society. This review explores whether current conceptualizations of GC support a productive path for management and organizational scholarship by guiding empirical inquiry, facilitating cumulative theory development, and informing practice. We systematically examine scholarly articles, calls for papers, and editorial notes published in management journals for consistency in how researchers use and define the concept of GC and the scope of associated phenomena and attributes. We find three prominent conceptual architectures in use: discursive, family resemblance, and phenomenon driven. The variety and incoherence of current uses of the GC concept and the lack of efforts to improve its analytical competence lead us to suggest its retirement. Instead, we propose building on the enthusiasm around GC research and using GC as a term to define research principles that collectively help align research efforts and improve theoretical development and practice. The principles we propose capture a genuine origin story for management research on GC.     

Leadership behavior and employee well-being: An integrated review and a future research agenda

Leadership behavior has a significant impact on employee behavior, performance and well-being. Extant theory and research on leadership behavior, however, has predominantly focused on employee performance, treating employee well-being (typically measured as job satisfaction) as a secondary outcome variable related to performance, rather than as an important outcome in and of itself. This qualitative state of the science review examines the process by which leadership behavior (i.e., change, relational, task, passive) affects employee well-being. We identify five mediator groupings (social-cognitive, motivational, affective, relational, identification), extend the criterion space for conceptualizing employee well-being (i.e., psychological: hedonic, eudaimonic, negative; and physical), examine the limited evidence for differential processes that underlie the leader behavior-employee well-being relationship and discuss theoretical and methodological problems inherent to the literature. We conclude by proposing a theoretical framework to guide a future research agenda on how, why and when leadership behavior impacts employee well-being.     

Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda

The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in scholarly interest in the topic of authentic leadership. We review this literature with the goal of clarifying the state of knowledge in the field. We begin with a historical overview of the construct's definition and evolution. Next, we present the results of a content analysis of 91 publications that focus on authentic leadership. Specifically, we examined the publication type (theoretical, empirical, and practitioner), contributors (e.g., discipline, nationality, and institutional affiliation), theoretical foundations, research strategies, sample location/type, data collection methods, analytical procedures, and nomological network of authentic leadership. We conclude by presenting an agenda for future research.