NEW RESEARCH | When innovation creates friction – 4 strategies to resolve conflict

When new technologies are introduced into an organization, conflicts often arise between different stakeholders. But these conflicts can be both a barrier and a driver of innovation – if managed properly.

When a Swedish healthcare innovation project wanted to introduce a mobile app for cancer patients, they encountered a lot of resistance. The app would allow patients to record their wellbeing and send data to the healthcare system, reducing the need for physical visits. Despite the benefits of technology, the process was far from painless.

– It is a common misconception that all actors in an innovation project have the same goals and interests. In fact, there are often big differences in how they view technology, responsibilities and decision-making processes,” says Daan Kabel, Linköping University.

Different types of conflict

In his doctoral thesis, Daan Kabel studied a number of actors in the Swedish healthcare system when a new technological solution was to be introduced in two hospitals. In the study, Daan Kabel identified five common conflicts that often arise in innovation projects where multiple actors with different interests and perspectives interact. According to him, the types of conflict are universal and apply regardless of the industry.

• The role of technology: Healthcare providers often see digital technology as an administrative burden, while technology companies see it as an improvement in care. Policy makers and funders, on the other hand, see technology as a way to streamline operations.
  
  
• Accountability: Healthcare providers want to retain control over medical care, but from the perspective of technology companies, patients can take more responsibility for their care.
  
  
• Differences in decision-making processes and pace: Technology and pharmaceutical companies often want to act quickly, which clashes with the slow and complex decision-making processes in healthcare.
  
  
• Legal and ownership issues: Technology companies want to retain control of their solutions, while healthcare advocates transparency to allow patient information to be shared between healthcare providers.
  
  
• Resource sharing: Private actors do not want to share technologies or patient data because they are competing in a market. While public healthcare actors and research institutes want transparency to be able to collaborate well.
  

– All these conflicts can lead to the failure of innovation projects. “We saw in the study examples of hospitals that were interested in the digital app, but eventually dropped out because of unresolved conflicts,” says Daan Kabel.

Four strategies for managing conflict

The study shows that conflict is not necessarily a problem – it can be a driver of innovation, provided it is managed properly. In the study, the researchers found four strategies used by stakeholders to manage conflict: compromise, confrontation, mobilization and avoidance.

– In a compromise, one party gives up certain requirements to enable cooperation. One example from the study was when the technology company wanted access to all patient data, but had to settle for a limited amount, says Daan Kabel.

Confrontation occurs when one actor obstructs another’s proposals and opposes ideas. In the study, this happened when hospitals refused technology companies’ requests for wider access to data. The third strategy, mobilization, involves one party seeking support from like-minded people to strengthen its position.

– And avoidance behavior means that a party chooses to ignore a conflict in order not to damage relationships or stop projects. In some cases, actors in my study showed external support for the innovation, but passively worked against it in practice.

In an ideal world, all parties would compromise, but reality is more complex, says Daan Kabel.

– Often a combination of these strategies is used. I think we should stop seeing conflicts as only negative, they can even be necessary for an innovation to be as good as possible.

Contact daan.kabel@liu.se

More about the thesis
Daan Kabel will defend his thesis Innovation within healthcare service ecosystems: Strategies for overcoming conflicts on February 28, 2025 at Linköping University.