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Overcoming the not-invented-here syndrome in healthcare: The case of German ambulatory physiotherapists’ adoption of digital health innovations

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  • Thomas Huynh
  • Julia Kroh
  • Carsten Schultz

Abstract

Healthcare is characterized by professional, organizational, and institutional boundaries. Digital health innovations can help overcome these boundaries by providing information access to all healthcare professionals. Such innovations emerge from inputs from different health professionals at different positions along the entire care process and have the potential to substantially change the way in which interprofessional tasks are performed among the involved professionals. Consequently, as less empowered professionals, physiotherapists may resist the adoption of digital health innovations in particular if the innovation is dominated by physicians, and thus the not-invented-here syndrome may become a major barrier. We aim to examine whether the origin of a digital health innovation affects German physiotherapists’ adoption decision and whether the collaboration quality and physiotherapists’ proactive job crafting behavior may help overcome adoption barriers. We applied a mixed-method sequential design with a qualitative study one in which we interviewed 20 physiotherapists to provide exploratory insights, and a quantitative study two in which we tested our proposed hypotheses with survey data including an experimental vignette from 165 physiotherapists. Physiotherapists adopt digital health innovations developed by their own professional group more likely than digital health innovations developed by physicians. Our results also confirm that physiotherapists’ job crafting behavior and the quality of the collaboration with physicians weaken the resistance against physician-driven innovations. Our study underlines (1) the need to involve allied health professionals as physiotherapists in digital health innovation development, (2) the relevance of interprofessional collaboration in daily practice and, (3) an open mind set of allied health professionals to cope with innovation adoption barriers.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Huynh & Julia Kroh & Carsten Schultz, 2023. "Overcoming the not-invented-here syndrome in healthcare: The case of German ambulatory physiotherapists’ adoption of digital health innovations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(12), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0293550
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293550
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carolyn Steele Gray & Dominique Gagnon & Nick Guldemond & Timothy Kenealy, 2021. "Digital Health Systems in Integrated Care," Springer Books, in: Volker Amelung & Viktoria Stein & Esther Suter & Nicholas Goodwin & Ellen Nolte & Ran Balicer (ed.), Handbook Integrated Care, edition 2, chapter 0, pages 479-496, Springer.
    2. Hannen, Julian & Antons, David & Piller, Frank & Salge, Torsten Oliver & Coltman, Tim & Devinney, Timothy M., 2019. "Containing the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome in external knowledge absorption and open innovation: The role of indirect countermeasures," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    3. Katarzyna Kolasa & Grzegorz Kozinski, 2020. "How to Value Digital Health Interventions? A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-22, March.
    4. David Grosse Kathoefer & Jens Leker, 2012. "Knowledge transfer in academia: an exploratory study on the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 37(5), pages 658-675, October.
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