TY - JOUR

T1 - Transforming technology-mediated healthcare services through strategic sense-giving

AU - Daskalopoulou, Athanasia

AU - Go Jefferies, Josephine

AU - Skandalis, Alexandros

PY - 2020/10/5

Y1 - 2020/10/5

N2 - Service research has previously documented service providers’ role in addressing the barriers of technology mediation, mostly at the service delivery level. However, there is still limited understanding about the role of service providers who hold strategic and operational roles, as well as the impact of coordinated, organization-wide initiatives in dealing with the demands and associated emotional ambivalence of technology mediated services. This qualitative study draws from a series of in-depth interviews with healthcare service providers who hold strategic and operational roles in healthcare organizations along with participant observation in order to develop an understanding of the broader organizational context of telehealth services. We outline the strategic sense-giving process and highlight how healthcare service providers who hold strategic and operational roles enact the sense-giver role. We illustrate that strategic sense-giving involves the (a) recognition of sense-making gaps; (b) identification of sense-giving opportunities; and (c) provision of templates of action. We illustrate that sense-giving can be performed by a number of organizational members in a more formalized way which extends informal sense-giving efforts at the peer-to-peer level. We highlight the importance of strategic sense-giving in providing templates of action for service providers and consumers. We also show how strategic sense-giving safeguards against confusion and errors by communicating appropriate ways of using technology. Finally, we demonstrate the role of strategic sense-giving in helping service providers and consumers cope with the emotional ambivalence of technology mediated service interactions.

AB - Service research has previously documented service providers’ role in addressing the barriers of technology mediation, mostly at the service delivery level. However, there is still limited understanding about the role of service providers who hold strategic and operational roles, as well as the impact of coordinated, organization-wide initiatives in dealing with the demands and associated emotional ambivalence of technology mediated services. This qualitative study draws from a series of in-depth interviews with healthcare service providers who hold strategic and operational roles in healthcare organizations along with participant observation in order to develop an understanding of the broader organizational context of telehealth services. We outline the strategic sense-giving process and highlight how healthcare service providers who hold strategic and operational roles enact the sense-giver role. We illustrate that strategic sense-giving involves the (a) recognition of sense-making gaps; (b) identification of sense-giving opportunities; and (c) provision of templates of action. We illustrate that sense-giving can be performed by a number of organizational members in a more formalized way which extends informal sense-giving efforts at the peer-to-peer level. We highlight the importance of strategic sense-giving in providing templates of action for service providers and consumers. We also show how strategic sense-giving safeguards against confusion and errors by communicating appropriate ways of using technology. Finally, we demonstrate the role of strategic sense-giving in helping service providers and consumers cope with the emotional ambivalence of technology mediated service interactions.

U2 - 10.1108/JSM-11-2019-0452

DO - 10.1108/JSM-11-2019-0452

M3 - Journal article

VL - 34

SP - 909

EP - 920

JO - Journal of Services Marketing

JF - Journal of Services Marketing

SN - 0887-6045

IS - 7

ER -