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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
91

Uber: inovação disruptiva e ciclos de intervenção regulatória

Telésforo, Rachel Lopes January 2016 (has links)
Submitted by Rachel Lopes Telésforo (rachel@tclaw.adv.br) on 2017-03-15T19:58:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RLT - DISSERTACAO MESTRADO - 2017.docx: 1963235 bytes, checksum: 3dcbac03c54376081f5116490cd805fa (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Publicação Direito Rio (publicacao.direitorio@fgv.br) on 2017-03-16T13:47:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RLT - DISSERTACAO MESTRADO - 2017.docx: 1963235 bytes, checksum: 3dcbac03c54376081f5116490cd805fa (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-22T19:56:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RLT - DISSERTACAO MESTRADO - 2017.docx: 1963235 bytes, checksum: 3dcbac03c54376081f5116490cd805fa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / Technologic innovation is inevitable. Regulation, optional. All over the world, economic trends emerge every moment. Regarding the individual transport system of passengers, focus of this work, sharing economy brought paradigmatic disruptions, as occurred with the arrival of Uber device that offers similar services to taxis and promises to reduce ― or even eliminate ― existing market failures for years. Taxi Market is known for taxis upregulation, and until then, little competition and low consumer satisfaction index. Uber´s presence brought greater expectations of quality, but in the opposite direction of the success with users, the regulator follow the following cycle of intervention all over the world: (i) Immediate app’s prohibition; (ii) Uber’s indirect prohibition, according regulation in accordance with the traditional system/ 'a la taxi' (planning permissions and other mechanisms) and (iii) studies to introduction of a specific regulation, that put together technologic benefices and real attendance to public interest. To look more closely to the cycles, this paper analyzed the regulator’s posture in 23 megacities all over the world, according definition of United Nations – UN, that exemplified agent´s conduct in the cities with more than seven million habitants. Faced with said interventions, this paper has concluded that there is a strong regulatory capture in the transport of passenger’s market ― and there was made a theoretical approach of the Public Choice Theory ― since the first and second cycles evidence benefices of small groups of interest in the sector, rather than the mass. Besides that, since technology can reduce problems involving situations of monopolies, asymmetric information and negative externalities, there is no reason to justify the necessity of maintenance of the regulation, already considered excessive in said market. Also, it is worth mentioning that the regulatory actions were directly countered not only by the popular opinion, but mainly by force of judicial decisions all over the world, that by means of preliminary injunctions prevented abrasive reactions of those agents, and that indicates that judiciary sector is not captured. The third cycle of regulatory intervention indicates a way of interconnection between collaborative economies and urban solutions with the objective of the collective benefice. Studies all over the world points the necessity of regulatory alternatives that can conciliate the public interest with the comprehension of the technologic progress. However, to achieve the third cycle of regulation, it is necessary that the regulator abandon the character merely supervisory and assumes a behavior more analytical and proactive, with the objective of finding regulatory alternatives able to bring gains in infrastructure and urbanization. / A inovação tecnológica é inevitável. A regulação, opcional. Ao redor do mundo, tendências econômicas surgem a cada instante. No que tange ao sistema de transporte individual de passageiros, foco do presente trabalho, a economia de compartilhamento trouxe rompimentos paradigmáticos, como o que ocorreu com a chegada do dispositivo Uber, que oferece serviços semelhantes ao de táxis e reduz ― chegando em alguns casos, a eliminar ― falhas de mercado existentes há anos. O mercado de táxis é conhecido pela alta regulação, tendo até então, pouca concorrência e baixo índice de satisfação do consumidor. A presença do Uber trouxe maior expectativa de qualidade, mas em contramão ao sucesso junto aos usuários, o regulador segue o seguinte ciclo de intervenção reguladora, ao redor do mundo: (i) proibição imediata do aplicativo; (ii) proibição indireta do Uber, por meio de regulação feita de acordo com o sistema tradicional/ 'a la táxi' (concessão de alvarás, dentre outros mecanismos) e (iii) estudos para implementação de uma regulação específica, que une os benefícios tecnológicos ao real atendimento do interesse público. Para analisar mais profundamente esses ciclos, estudou-se a postura do regulador em 23 megacidades ao redor do mundo, conforme padrão definido pelas Organização das Nações Unidas – ONU, o que exemplificou a conduta dos agentes em cidades com mais de sete milhões de habitantes. Diante de tais intervenções, chegou-se à conclusão de que existe forte captura regulatória no sistema de transporte de passageiros ― tendo sido feita uma abordagem da Teoria da Escolha Pública ― já que os dois primeiros ciclos apontam benefícios de pequenos grupos de interesse no setor, em detrimento do coletivo. Além disso, se a tecnologia é capaz de reduzir falhas envolvendo situações de monopólios situacionais, assimetrias de informação e externalidades negativas, não haveria outro motivo que justificasse a necessidade na manutenção da regulação, já tida como excedente no mercado em apreço. Válido mencionar que as ações regulatórias foram prontamente combatidas não apenas pela opinião popular, mas principalmente por meio de decisões judiciais ao redor do mundo, que por meio de liminares impediram reações mais abrasivas de tais agentes, e o que aponta que tal setor não se encontra capturado. O terceiro ciclo de intervenção regulatória indica um caminho de interconexão entre as economias de colaboração com medidas urbanas que busquem beneficiar o coletivo. Estudos ao redor do mundo evidenciam a necessidade de alternativas regulatórias que possam conciliar o interesse público com a compreensão da natureza do progresso tecnológico. No entanto, para que se chegue a tal ciclo interventivo, é necessário que o regulador abandone o caráter meramente fiscalizatório e assuma comportamento mais analítico e proativo, no sentido de aplicar alternativas regulatórias que impliquem em medidas que representem ganhos em infraestrutura e urbanização.
92

Generic inhibitors to conserve and transform traditional technologies : the case of Ethiopia

Negassi Yosseph G-Egziabher 12 1900 (has links)
Traditional technologies are revelations of knowledge, skill, and wisdom of ancestors that have been used to facilitate and enhance the performance of socio-economic activities, overcome environmental challenges, and magnify symbolic presentations of cultural and spiritual engagements. Traditional technologies are still practiced in many communities despite the strides made in the advancement of modern technologies. The socio-economic significance of traditional technologies in the context of Ethiopia is even more profound. There are hardly social, economic, and spiritual activities that are not, directly or indirectly, influenced by the application of traditional technologies. The irony is, however, they are not appreciated and conserved in spite that they have been proving a sustained significance across generations while, to the contrary, modern technologies are even staggering to outlive the stage of product introduction. Although still proving to be useful, traditional technologies have been marginalized as if they are symbols of backwardness belonging to the past as irrelevant to the modern day settings. It was, therefore, the urge to look into this dilemma that became the basis for the initiation to conduct a research on the captioned topic. The study has endeavored to address how traditional technologies, specifically that of Ethiopia, are able to sustain contrary to extant theoretical predictions of technologies, and investigate why they have been deterred from getting the conservation and transformation they deserve in spite of the socio-economic significant role they have continued to play as capitulated in the statement of the problem. In addressing the statement of the problem, the paradigm of the world outlook within which the research was situated is found to be related to the Critical Theory paradigm. As a result, a qualitative research methodology based on a case study design was framed and a longitudinal field study on the sampled cases was conducted. The data generated from the study were ix filtered, coded, organized, categorized, and ultimately analyzed and interpreted using apparent analytic models until saturated and triangulated findings were established. Accordingly, the core constructs that has been defining the fate of traditional technologies were induced and their impact in deterring or promoting the conservation and transformation of traditional technologies were synthesized. Based on the outcomes of data analysis and interpretation, appropriate methods of reshaping the societal attitude and orientation in terms of conserving and transforming traditional practices are proposed as induced recommendations ultimately requiring a timely intervention. / Business Management / D. Litt. et Phil. (Business Leadership)
93

The Contentious Politics of Disruptive Innovation: Vaping and Fracking in the European Union

Hasselbalch, Jacob 01 May 2017 (has links)
This thesis investigates what it means to view disruptive innovation as a political problem. I take my point of departure in the tendency for controversial disruptions in heavily regulated sectors, such as electronic cigarettes or hydraulic fracturing, to open regulatory spaces by challenging established expectations about how they ought to be governed. In the wake of such disruption, policy actors with a stake in the matter engage in sensemaking and discursive contests to control the meaning of the innovations in order to close the regulatory spaces by aligning them with one set of laws instead of another. I study these contests in two recent legislative initiatives of the European Union to address the disruptive potential of e-cigarettes and fracking: the 2014 revision of the Tobacco Products Directive and the 2014 Commission recommendations on unconventional fossil fuels. The research draws on 51 interviews carried out with key policy actors during and after the policy debates. I bolster this with an analysis of policy documents, press releases and scientific studies, as well as a content and network analysis of position statements in newspaper articles. I find that the strategic use of rhetoric and framing plays an important part in creating, maintaining, and entrenching opposed coalitions in both policy debates. In both case studies, the policy solution is accompanied by deteriorating levels of trust among participants, leading coalitions to engage in strategies of venue-shopping to circumvent their opponents. This underscores the significant challenges there are for policymakers to address disruptions while maintaining legitimacy. The original contribution of the thesis lies in its novel conceptualization of disruptive innovation as a political problem, its application of micro-sociological approaches to the politics of expertise and European public policy, and its practical and theoretical suggestions for how to better study periods of disruption and govern through them. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
94

Additive Manufacturing in Orthopedics and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery for the Development of High-risk Custom-made Implants : A Qualitative Study of Implementation Factors from a Multi-stakeholder Perspective / Implementering av Additiv Tillverkning i Ortopedi och Kranio- och käkkirurgi för Utveckling av Högrisk Patientspecifika Implantat : En Kvalitative Studie av Implementeringsfaktorer ur Intressenters Perspektiv

Nioti, Antonia Evgenia January 2020 (has links)
Additive manufacturing (AM) has enabled the possibility for the hospitals to become their own implant producers developing implants that are tailored to patient’s anatomy. Despite the enormous potential of custom-made implants there are challenges that complicate the implementation of them into clinical practice. The aim of this research is to (1) identify the main driving forces and barriers for the delivery of custom-made implants; (2) explore staff stakeholder views and practices related to the implementation of AM in surgery for the development of custom-made implants; (3) formulate recommendations on how to cope with the implementation challenges. The research method was an explorative qualitative study consisted of a literature review on the challenges of custom-made implants in clinical applications coupled with the collection and inductive analysis of empirical data. The empirical study was based on ten semi-structured interviews conducted among both domestic and international hospital managers medical doctors and research engineers. The consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR) was utilized for data collection. Using the five domains of CFIR, the following results were obtained: (1) Characteristics of individuals: Most research participants indicated a positive attitude towards the innovation expressing self-efficacy to its use; (2) Intervention characteristics: Custom-made implants were perceived to have a relative advantage in surgical practice due to their high degree of observability and geometrical adaptability providing increased surgical quality, perfect patient fit and better understanding of pathologies. However, high implementation costs, low degree of trialability and high degree of complexity in the development process were regarded as drawbacks of the innovation; (3) Outer setting: the regulatory uncertainty and lack of reimbursement limit the accessibility of custom-made implants to low income populations; (4) Inner setting: scarcity of resources, staff resistance to change, insufficient management support, communication difficulties, limited access to educational materials and training opportunities as well as lack of time and innovative capacity were regarded by the majority of participants as implementation barriers; (5) Process: central for the success of implementation is the need for a coherent implementation plan and evaluation process as well as the engagement of key stakeholders such as hospital managers, payers, regulatory and implementation advisors. This dissertation proffers a deeper understanding of the implementation issues related to custom-made implants and offers preliminary recommendations on how to cope with implementation impediments through the use of Rogers diffusion of innovation coupled with concepts from the field of organizational change and innovation management including Clayton’s disruptive innovation.
95

A Process Framework for Managing Quality of Service in Private Cloud

Maskara, Arvind 01 August 2014 (has links)
As information systems leaders tap into the global market of cloud computing-based services, they struggle to maintain consistent application performance due to lack of a process framework for managing quality of service (QoS) in the cloud. Guided by the disruptive innovation theory, the purpose of this case study was to identify a process framework for meeting the QoS requirements of private cloud service users. Private cloud implementation was explored by selecting an organization in California through purposeful sampling. Information was gathered by interviewing 23 information technology (IT) professionals, a mix of frontline engineers, managers, and leaders involved in the implementation of private cloud. Another source of data was documents such as standard operating procedures, policies, and guidelines related to private cloud implementation. Interview transcripts and documents were coded and sequentially analyzed. Three prominent themes emerged from the analysis of data: (a) end user expectations, (b) application architecture, and (c) trending analysis. The findings of this study may help IT leaders in effectively managing QoS in cloud infrastructure and deliver reliable application performance that may help in increasing customer population and profitability of organizations. This study may contribute to positive social change as information systems managers and workers can learn and apply the process framework for delivering stable and reliable cloud-hosted computer applications.
96

New understandings of disruptive innovation : micro- and macro-level studies / 破壊的イノベーションの微視的・巨視的構造に関する研究 / ハカイテキ イノベーション ノ ビシテキ キョシテキ コウゾウ ニカンスル ケンキュウ / 破壊的イノベーションの微視的巨視的構造に関する研究

モントヤ セバスチャン フアン, Sebastian Juan Montoya 21 March 2018 (has links)
本論文は破壊的イノベーションの微視的・巨視的構造に関する研究だ。クリステンセンによって提唱された破壊的イノベーション理論の基礎を明らかにし、破壊的イノベーション現象の原因と結果を明確に区別する。破壊的イノベーション理論が先行研究で直面した批判に取り組み、イノベーションのジレンマの原因メカニズムに関する問題を浮上する。 / This thesis is a comprehensive study about disruptive innovation, its patterns, and the mechanisms that cause it. This research tests Christensen's disruption theory, the main theory proposed today as an explanation of this phenomenon. In order to do so, this research identifies the strengths and weaknesses of Christensen's theory, and builds upon it to propose an improved theory of disruption that takes into account the differences between the micro and macro perspectives of disruption. / 博士(技術・革新的経営) / Doctor of Philosophy in Technology and Innovative Management / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University
97

Opportunity Exploration and Evaluation: in the Trend of Open Banking / Utforskning och utvärdering av möjligheter: i utvecklingen av öppna banklösningar

Hsiao, Yuchen January 2021 (has links)
The concept of open banking is on the rise in the financial industry. Not only are banks taking an interest in this topic, but many financial technology start-ups are developing as well. One particular player can be considered challenger banks; they have gained a high degree of digital competence and agility to adapt to changes in the industry. As a result of this trend, these financial players raise the question of what the opportunities are. This study aims to identify potential opportunities for challenger banks and to provide a practical model for companies to assess the opportunities. The results of the study show that the opportunities can be divided into three segments: personalized banking services; modularity; as well as embedded finance. Finally, an opportunity evaluation canvas was developed, providing banks a systematic and comprehensive model to evaluate an opportunity. / Begreppet open banking är på frammarsch inom finansbranschen. Ämnet intresserar därmed såväl bankerna som många nystartade företag inom finansteknologi. En aktör är så kallade utmanarbankerna; de sitter på en hög grad av digital kompetens och flexibilitet vad gäller förändringar i branschen. Som ett resultat av denna trend väcker dessa finansiella aktörer frågan om vilka möjligheter som finns. Den här studien syftar till att identifiera potentiella möjligheter för utmanarbanker, samt att tillhandahålla ett praktisk ramverk inom vilket företag kan bedöma dessa möjligheter. Resultaten visar att möjligheterna kan delas in i tre kategorier: personliga banktjänster; modularitet; samt plattformar och ekosystem. Slutligen utvecklades en utvärderingsmall för möjligheter, som ger bankerna en systematisk och omfattande modell för att utvärdera en möjlighet.
98

Hyperloop in Sweden : Evaluating Hyperloops Viability in the Swedish Context / Hyperloop i Sweden : Utvärdering av Hyperloops Möjligheter i den Svenska Kontexten

Magnusson, Fredrik, Widegren, Fredrik January 2018 (has links)
Transportations role in society is increasingly important and today it has a prominent role in business, citizens lives as well as in the world economy. The increasing globalization and urbanization puts significant pressure on the existing transport system, with increasing demand for high-speed travel. However, this comes with implications on the environment, and the environmental concerns constitutes one of the biggest pressures in transport. And as the contemporary modes are bound by their technologies, enabling marginal rather than radical improvements, a possible window of opportunity for new radical technologies to enter the market can emerge. One new technology emerging within transportation today is called hyperloop, a technology that could prove to meet demand for faster, cheaper, safer and more environmentally efficient transportation. However, the technology is still in an early stage of development and hence surrounded by major uncertainties. Further, the nature of the technology necessitates overcoming several obstacles before it can reach commercial practice. And this together with a limited knowledge of the concept in Sweden makes it difficult to predict if hyperloop can become a viable transport alternative on the Swedish market. Which condensed lays the foundation to the purpose of this paper: "To give an overarching understanding of the Swedish transport market dynamics, together with a comprehensive evaluation of the hyperloop concept. And hence contribute to more inclusive knowledge and understanding of hyperloop’s viability in the Swedish context." Since the phenomenon has not been comprehensively studied previously, the elected research design is that of an exploratory case study, with an inductive, qualitative approach. To address the purpose, a literary review of the theoretical field was conducted. Looking in to previous research on disruptive innovation, diffusion of innovations, technical transitions, transformational pressure as well as window of opportunity. The empirical material gathered during the research process was derived from two main channels. Firstly, an extensive review of scientific articles about the hyperloop technology was conducted, providing insights on the technology and its surroundings. This was complemented by qualitative interviews to obtain material on the dynamics of the Swedish transport market as well as for understanding hyperloop in the Swedish context. The empirical study was further accompanied by a review of news articles and websites to map the most recent progress in the hyperloop development. By analyzing the empirical material through three frameworks; Characteristics of Diffusion, the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) and Technology Readiness Level (TRL), interesting findings and conclusions were drawn. These together points towards that hyperloop, if the technology reaches its predicted performance, will have significant relative advantages and observable effects in the relation to the contemporary modes of transportation. Further, a noticeable window of opportunity, sprung from capacity shortages and pressure towards environmental sustainability, seems to exist on the Swedish market. A window which could be capitalized upon and justify hyperloop in the Swedish context. The current state of the technology does however come with implications as it so far is insufficient to decrease uncertainty amongst the potential adopters. Factors that likely will prolong the adoption of the technology in Sweden relates to the relative complexity of the system, its limited compatibility with existing practices and the low maturity of the technology. Hence, the hyperloop companies must prove the concept feasible and increase the maturity to gain sufficient acceptance and recognition. This paper contributes to the academic community by assessing the compatibility of hyperloop on the Swedish market, as well as if hyperloop could become a viable alternative transport solution in Sweden. It provides insight to specific perspectives of the Swedish market, its requirements and the demand for alternative transport solutions. Hence, this paper is considered to make both an analytical contribution in terms of evaluating the viability of disruptive technologies. And an empirical contribution by shedding light on new important insights for the potential diffusion of hyperloop. Insights that are significant for hyperloop actors as well as for dominant actors on the Swedish transport market. / Transporters roll i samhället blir allt viktigare och de har idag en framträdande roll inom näringsliv, medborgares liv samt världsekonomin. Den ökande globaliseringen och urbaniseringen sätter dock ett betydande tryck på det existerande transportsystemet, med ökande efterfrågan för höghastighetsalternativ. Detta medför implikationer för miljön, och oron kring transporters miljöpåverkan är ett av de största bekymren för transportsektorn. Eftersom de existerande transportalternativen är bundna av sin teknik, vilket begränsar dem till inkrementella snarare än radikala förbättringar, kan en möjlighet för nya transportsätt att komma in på marknaden öppna sig. En kommande ny teknik som utvecklas inom transport idag kallas hyperloop, en teknik som kan visa sig möta efterfrågan för snabbare, billigare, säkrare och mer miljösmarta transporter. Tekniken är dock i ett tidigt utvecklingsskede och är därav omgärdad av stora osäkerheter. Vidare kräver teknikens natur att flertalet hinder kommer att behöva överkommas innan tekniken kan nå kommersiellt bruk. Detta tillsammans med den begränsade kunskap som finns kring konceptet i Sverige gör det svårt att förutspå om hyperloop kan bli ett möjligt transportalternativ på den svenska marknaden. Kondenserat ligger detta till grund för syftet med den här uppsatsen: "Att ge en övergripande förståelse av dynamiken på den svenska transportmarknaden, tillsammans med en djupgående utvärdering av hyperloop konceptet. Och därav bidra till en mer inkluderande kunskap och förståelse kring hyperloops möjligheter i den svenska kontexten." Eftersom detta fenomen inte tidigare har studerats i större utsträckning valdes en forskningsdesign i form av en undersökande fallstudie med ett induktivt, kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt. För att adressera syftet gjordes en litterär översyn av det teoretiska fältet. Med inblickar i tidigare forskning kring disruptiv teknik, diffusion av innovation, tekniska övergångar, transformationstryck samt möjlighetsfönster. Det empiriska materialet till studien samlades in genom två kanaler i huvudsak. Först, genom en djupdykning i tidigare forskning och vetenskapliga artiklar relaterade till hyperlooptekniken, för att generera insikter kring tekniken och dess omgivning. Detta kompletteras med kvalitativa intervjuer för att erhålla material om dynamiken på den svenska transportmarknaden samt för att ge en förståelse av hyperloop i den svenska kontexten. Den empiriska studien kompletterades ytterligare med en översyn av nyhetsartiklar och webbplatser för att kartlägga de senaste framstegen i hyperlooputvecklingen. Genom att analysera det empiriska materialet med hjälp av tre ramverk; Egenskaper för Spridning av Innovation, Perspektiv i Multipla Nivåer (MLP) och Teknisk Mogenhetsnivå (TRL), kunde flertalet intressanta upptäckter och slutsatser dras. Vilka tillsammans pekar mot att hyperloop, om tekniken lyckas uppnå den predikterade prestandan, kommer att ha betydande relativa fördelar och synliga effekter i förhållande till dagens transportsätt. Vidare kan ett märkbart möjlighetsfönster, sprunget ur kapacitetsbrist och tryck mot miljömässig hållbarhet, identifieras på den svenska marknaden. Detta fönster skulle kunna kapitaliseras på och motivera hyperloop i den svenska kontexten. Teknologins nuvarande tillstånd har emellertid konsekvenser, eftersom den hittills inte är tillräcklig för att minska osäkerheten hos potentiella adopterare. Faktorer som sannolikt kommer att förlänga processen att adoptera tekniken i Sverige härstammar från systemets relativa komplexitet, dess begränsade kompatibilitet med befintliga metoder samt teknikens låga mogenhet. Därav är det essentiellt för hyperloopbolagen att bevisa konceptet möjligt och öka mogenheten för att få tillräcklig acceptans och erkännande. Detta arbete bidrar till det akademiska samhället genom att bedöma kompatibiliteten mellan hyperloop och den svenska marknaden, samt om hyperloop kan bli ett genomförbart transportalternativ i Sverige. Arbetet bidrar med insikter i specifika perspektiv på den svenska marknaden, dess krav samt efterfrågan för alternativa transportlösningar. Därav kan denna uppsats anses utgöra både ett analytiskt bidrag genom dess utvärdering av genomförbarheten av disruptiv teknik. Samt ett empiriskt bidrag genom att belysa viktiga insikter för den potentiella spridningen av hyperloop. Insikter som är viktiga för såväl hyperloopaktörer som de dominanta aktörerna på den svenska transportmarknaden.
99

Disruptive Transformations in Health Care: Technological Innovation and the Acute Care General Hospital

Lucas, D. Pulane 24 April 2013 (has links)
Advances in medical technology have altered the need for certain types of surgery to be performed in traditional inpatient hospital settings. Less invasive surgical procedures allow a growing number of medical treatments to take place on an outpatient basis. Hospitals face growing competition from ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The competitive threats posed by ASCs are important, given that inpatient surgery has been the cornerstone of hospital services for over a century. Additional research is needed to understand how surgical volume shifts between and within acute care general hospitals (ACGHs) and ASCs. This study investigates how medical technology within the hospital industry is changing medical services delivery. The main purposes of this study are to (1) test Clayton M. Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation in health care, and (2) examine the effects of disruptive innovation on appendectomy, cholecystectomy, and bariatric surgery (ACBS) utilization. Disruptive innovation theory contends that advanced technology combined with innovative business models—located outside of traditional product markets or delivery systems—will produce simplified, quality products and services at lower costs with broader accessibility. Consequently, new markets will emerge, and conventional industry leaders will experience a loss of market share to “non-traditional” new entrants into the marketplace. The underlying assumption of this work is that ASCs (innovative business models) have adopted laparoscopy (innovative technology) and their unification has initiated disruptive innovation within the hospital industry. The disruptive effects have spawned shifts in surgical volumes from open to laparoscopic procedures, from inpatient to ambulatory settings, and from hospitals to ASCs. The research hypothesizes that: (1) there will be larger increases in the percentage of laparoscopic ACBS performed than open ACBS procedures; (2) ambulatory ACBS will experience larger percent increases than inpatient ACBS procedures; and (3) ASCs will experience larger percent increases than ACGHs. The study tracks the utilization of open, laparoscopic, inpatient and ambulatory ACBS. The research questions that guide the inquiry are: 1. How has ACBS utilization changed over this time? 2. Do ACGHs and ASCs differ in the utilization of ACBS? 3. How do states differ in the utilization of ACBS? 4. Do study findings support disruptive innovation theory in the hospital industry? The quantitative study employs a panel design using hospital discharge data from 2004 and 2009. The unit of analysis is the facility. The sampling frame is comprised of ACGHs and ASCs in Florida and Wisconsin. The study employs exploratory and confirmatory data analysis. This work finds that disruptive innovation theory is an effective model for assessing the hospital industry. The model provides a useful framework for analyzing the interplay between ACGHs and ASCs. While study findings did not support the stated hypotheses, the impact of government interventions into the competitive marketplace supports the claims of disruptive innovation theory. Regulations that intervened in the hospital industry facilitated interactions between ASCs and ACGHs, reducing the number of ASCs performing ACBS and altering the trajectory of ACBS volume by shifting surgeries from ASCs to ACGHs.

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