Rethinking the theory of the hospital: a knowledge-based view

Abstract

While the hospital is seen as a knowledge-intensive organization in the health services industry, it is conceptualized as an institution for integrating knowledge. This paper aims to explore the development of a knowledge-based theory of the hospital. Therefore, some concerns of the theory of the hospital from knowledge-based view (KBV) are addressed, particularly, the logic of the traditional theory of the hospital, the existence of the hospital, hospital structure, determinants of hospital boundaries, and the nature of coordination within the hospital. By integrating some of the key contributions such as the traditional theory of the hospital, KBV, the theory of the firm, and transaction cost theory, this paper is trying to make some progress in developing some key elements of a knowledge-based theory of the hospital.

Keywords:

• hospital
• knowledge-based view
• transaction cost theory
• health services

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the Academy of Management, in Philadelphia, USA. We thank anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. The research on which this paper is based was supported by the National Science Council (NSC 97-2410-H-242-001-MY2).