Nowadays, healthcare and service systems are vital foundations for national competitiveness and societal soundness, especially in public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemics. Due to the nature of health care and services (e.g., the performance depends on human life quality, less tolerance of failure, heavy dependence on institutions and regulations, etc.), stability has long been a fundamental principle that keeps the healthcare system going well.
However, national and societal situations for healthcare are constantly changing over time. The escalating cost and low-quality services urge theorists and practitioners to find new solutions to improve, especially in lagging-behind countries. An important implication generated from such changes (tiny or dramatic, incremental or rapid) is that even for a healthcare system as a very stable-oriented one, it requires creativity, innovation, and (institutional) entrepreneurship to enable the system to respond to environmental changes.
Creativity is highly required when a valuable but unique procedure, service, and product are required to solve an unusual situation occurring in the healthcare context. In such a situation, people look at the ordinary and routine things from a new angle. Moreover, innovation is systematic research and development activities to implement the creative ideas generated from the creativity process mentioned above. For example, big data technology might bring creative insights and innovation in personalized service giving through a newly designed healthcare information system. Furthermore, (institutional) entrepreneurship often involves a broader-ranged collective and activities to achieve. For instance, the institutional changes in national health insurance or long-term care policy and system may lead to new types of business ventures and alter the division of professions and relationships between governmental healthcare units, hospitals, enterprises, and other stakeholders.
Nonetheless, all creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial activities must be conducted in the strict premise of safety (for patients, professionals, doctors and nurses, and all involving persons). This is why the CIE activities in healthcare are so challenging and require more studies for knowledge advancement. Hence, in this special issue, we welcome submissions concerning creativity, innovation, and even (institutional) entrepreneurship of a healthcare service/system (conceptual and empirical papers, reviews, commentaries, etc.) in the following dimensions:
* Healthcare policy and systems
* Long-term care
* Health insurance
* Value co-creation
* Decision-making
* Leadership and organizational behaviors
* Human resource development
* Group-attributed analyses (e.g., health caregivers as a special group)
* Stress and other psychological/emotional factors
* Case studies
Nowadays, healthcare and service systems are vital foundations for national competitiveness and societal soundness, especially in public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemics. Due to the nature of health care and services (e.g., the performance depends on human life quality, less tolerance of failure, heavy dependence on institutions and regulations, etc.), stability has long been a fundamental principle that keeps the healthcare system going well.
However, national and societal situations for healthcare are constantly changing over time. The escalating cost and low-quality services urge theorists and practitioners to find new solutions to improve, especially in lagging-behind countries. An important implication generated from such changes (tiny or dramatic, incremental or rapid) is that even for a healthcare system as a very stable-oriented one, it requires creativity, innovation, and (institutional) entrepreneurship to enable the system to respond to environmental changes.
Creativity is highly required when a valuable but unique procedure, service, and product are required to solve an unusual situation occurring in the healthcare context. In such a situation, people look at the ordinary and routine things from a new angle. Moreover, innovation is systematic research and development activities to implement the creative ideas generated from the creativity process mentioned above. For example, big data technology might bring creative insights and innovation in personalized service giving through a newly designed healthcare information system. Furthermore, (institutional) entrepreneurship often involves a broader-ranged collective and activities to achieve. For instance, the institutional changes in national health insurance or long-term care policy and system may lead to new types of business ventures and alter the division of professions and relationships between governmental healthcare units, hospitals, enterprises, and other stakeholders.
Nonetheless, all creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial activities must be conducted in the strict premise of safety (for patients, professionals, doctors and nurses, and all involving persons). This is why the CIE activities in healthcare are so challenging and require more studies for knowledge advancement. Hence, in this special issue, we welcome submissions concerning creativity, innovation, and even (institutional) entrepreneurship of a healthcare service/system (conceptual and empirical papers, reviews, commentaries, etc.) in the following dimensions:
* Healthcare policy and systems
* Long-term care
* Health insurance
* Value co-creation
* Decision-making
* Leadership and organizational behaviors
* Human resource development
* Group-attributed analyses (e.g., health caregivers as a special group)
* Stress and other psychological/emotional factors
* Case studies