How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Objective: To investigate how meta-organizations and traditional hierarchical organizations differ in their approaches to facilitating collective action in digital transformation initiatives within healthcare settings. Design: A comparative case study utilizing primary data collection for the me...

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Main Authors: Chienhung Chen, Chih-Yuan Wang, Zhao-Hong Cheng, Kune-Ping Shieh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: ACHSM 2025-08-01
Series:Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
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Online Access:https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4451
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author Chienhung Chen
Chih-Yuan Wang
Zhao-Hong Cheng
Kune-Ping Shieh
author_facet Chienhung Chen
Chih-Yuan Wang
Zhao-Hong Cheng
Kune-Ping Shieh
author_sort Chienhung Chen
collection DOAJ
description Objective: To investigate how meta-organizations and traditional hierarchical organizations differ in their approaches to facilitating collective action in digital transformation initiatives within healthcare settings. Design: A comparative case study utilizing primary data collection for the meta-organization case and secondary data analysis for the traditional organization case. Setting: Comparing Abc Dental Group (a meta-organization of 12 dental clinics in Taiwan) and Princess Alexandra Hospital (a traditional hierarchical public hospital in Australia). Main outcome measures:  Decision-making processes, implementation strategies, knowledge sharing mechanisms, and alignment approaches for digital transformation initiatives. Results: Meta-organizations rely on collaborative decision-making, voluntary implementation, peer learning networks, and identity-based alignment. Traditional organizations employ centralized decision-making, structured implementation, formal training, and authority-based alignment. Conclusions: Organizational structure fundamentally shapes collective action approaches in digital transformation. Meta-organizational distributed approaches particularly suit contexts requiring clinical autonomy and adaptation to diverse environments, while traditional centralized approaches promote consistency in critical systems. These findings extend meta-organization theory by identifying specific mechanisms that overcome limited formal authority challenges.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1833-3818
2204-3136
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
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record_format Article
series Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
spelling doaj-art-69e4da422e9345d492ea546463f6fc622025-08-21T01:07:38ZengACHSMAsia Pacific Journal of Health Management1833-38182204-31362025-08-0110.24083/apjhm.v20i2.4451How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in HealthcareChienhung Chen0Chih-Yuan Wang1Zhao-Hong Cheng2Kune-Ping Shieh3Department of International Business, National Kaohsiung University of Science & Technology, Taiwan, ChinaDepartment of Business Administration, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan, ChinaDepartment of International Business, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, ChinaDepartment of Business Administration, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan, China Objective: To investigate how meta-organizations and traditional hierarchical organizations differ in their approaches to facilitating collective action in digital transformation initiatives within healthcare settings. Design: A comparative case study utilizing primary data collection for the meta-organization case and secondary data analysis for the traditional organization case. Setting: Comparing Abc Dental Group (a meta-organization of 12 dental clinics in Taiwan) and Princess Alexandra Hospital (a traditional hierarchical public hospital in Australia). Main outcome measures:  Decision-making processes, implementation strategies, knowledge sharing mechanisms, and alignment approaches for digital transformation initiatives. Results: Meta-organizations rely on collaborative decision-making, voluntary implementation, peer learning networks, and identity-based alignment. Traditional organizations employ centralized decision-making, structured implementation, formal training, and authority-based alignment. Conclusions: Organizational structure fundamentally shapes collective action approaches in digital transformation. Meta-organizational distributed approaches particularly suit contexts requiring clinical autonomy and adaptation to diverse environments, while traditional centralized approaches promote consistency in critical systems. These findings extend meta-organization theory by identifying specific mechanisms that overcome limited formal authority challenges. https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4451Meta-organizations, Collective Action, Digital Transformation, Healthcare Management
spellingShingle Chienhung Chen
Chih-Yuan Wang
Zhao-Hong Cheng
Kune-Ping Shieh
How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in Healthcare
Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
Meta-organizations, Collective Action, Digital Transformation, Healthcare Management
title How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in Healthcare
title_full How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in Healthcare
title_fullStr How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in Healthcare
title_full_unstemmed How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in Healthcare
title_short How Do Meta-Organizations Reach Collective Action? A Comparative Study of Digital Transformation in Healthcare
title_sort how do meta organizations reach collective action a comparative study of digital transformation in healthcare
topic Meta-organizations, Collective Action, Digital Transformation, Healthcare Management
url https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4451
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