About the project
Healthcare organizations have been characterized by a decoupling and significant tension between the top management level and the clinical management level. New leadership structures have been implemented in order to bridge the gap between the different logics at these levels of the organization. A new middle management level of leaders has also emerged in most hospitals in the past 10 years. Whether the new leadership structures and middle management level have been successful at bridging the gap remains unclear.
Objectives
The aim of this project is to provide a better understanding of clinical leadership and the conditions of successful bridging of logics in healthcare organizations.The project will also add new knowledge on how theories from existing leadership models can be applied to bridge the gap between management and the clinical level. The project could result in a new leadership model that is better suited to bridging the gap between top management and the clinical level.
Background
The project will systematically assess clinical leadership models that have been applied to Norwegian hospitals and explore the new middle management levels that have been introduced. Two contrasting health trusts have been chosen for study based on knowledge of their leadership models and characteristics of their organizational structures. The project applies in-depth observation and interviews of 30 middle managers in Norwegian hospitals. Data from focus groups will be used to further validate the results. The results from these methodological approaches will be integrated into the overarching question of how middle managers are able to bridge the gap between the administrative and the clinical dimensions.
Cooperation
The project and its members are part of a larger research group focusing on various topics related to organization and leadership in healthcare organizations. This group includes Professor Ole Berg, Professor Halvor Nordby and Ph.D. students, Anders Havig and Vilde Bernstrøm. The members are affiliated either fully or partly to the Institute and cooperate in project groups where research and literature related to leadership and organizing within healthcare organizations are presented. Most of the group participants are also associated with the Nordic Network of Healthcare Management Research (NOHR) and the European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST). The COST network currently works towards the implementation of European research action with the goal of increasing empirical, theoretical and policy relevant knowledge about the changing role of medical professionals in healthcare management.
Publications
Start - Finish
2009-2015