Values and commitment in the innovation process in highly regulated and semi-public systems: The case of the four-day work week in German healthcare

This study examines the role of normative values and stakeholder commitment in the evalua-tion and implementation process of social and organizational innovations in highly regulated systems, using the example of the four-day work week in German healthcare. Based on 26 expert interviews across micro, meso, and macro levels, the study reveals how actor-specific values and institutional contexts shape judgment about ecological, economic, social, and or-ganizational performance sustainability. The findings show that commitment to innovation is not determined solely by functional considerations but emerges in a field of tension between normative aspirations. Stakeholders align themselves differently along axes such as employee vs. patient orientation or short- vs. long-term thinking, resulting in competing innovation scenarios. The study proposes a transferable framework enabling organizations to map stakeholder values, locate areas of tension, and assess the depth and direction of commitment.