Development and psychometric testing of a new measure of the determinants that influence the adoption of WhatsApp in hospitals

Background Healthcare contexts are witnessing a growing use of applications to support clinical processes and to communicate between peers and with patients. An increasing number of hospital professionals use instant-messaging applications such as WhatsApp in their daily work. Previous research has mainly focused on the advantages and risks of WhatsApp usage in different clinical settings, but limited evidence is available about whether and how individual and organizational determinants can influence the use of WhatsApp in hospitals. Moreover, instruments to explore this phenomenon are lacking. A theoretical four-factor model based on the ‘Technology Acceptance Model’ and the Institutional Theory, guided the development of a new measure of the individual and institutional determinants of WhatsApp usage in hospitals. Aim To develop and psychometrically test the questionnaire ‘Digital Innovation Adoption in Hospitals’. Method A panel of researchers and clinical experts generated an initial pool of 35 items by identifying and adapting items from existing measures. These items were assessed for content and face validity by fourteen experts. The final 28-item ‘Digital Innovation Adoption in Hospitals’ questionnaire comprising four sections (Perceived risks, Perceived usefulness, Regulative factors and Normative factors) was administered online to nurses and physicians. Construct validity was tested through confirmatory factor analysis. Results The sample included 326 hospital nurses and physicians. The theoretical four-factors model was confirmed and the confirmatory factor analysis yielded acceptable fit indexes. The correlations between the factors were significant and ranged from -0.284 to 0.543 (p < .01). Reliability in terms of internal consistency was satisfactory with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ranging from 0.918–0.973. Conclusion This study is the first to provide a validated tool to evaluate the use of WhatsApp in hospitals. The new instrument shows reasonable psychometric properties and is a promising and widely applicable measure of factors that influence the use of WhatsApp in hospitals.

“Ambidexterity”: trump card for farm's innovativeness and competitiveness

PurposeThe paper aims to analyze the relevance of networking and social capital in promoting the adoption of sustainable innovation, then reinforcing trajectories of multifunctional agriculture. It puts forwards a systemic perspective by focusing on agricultural knowledge and innovation systems. More precisely, we share the idea of “micro agricultural knowledge and innovation systems”, by addressing ambidexterity as engine for boosting sustainable innovation.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical analysis is focused on sustainable innovation adopted by young farmers in Italy and on the mediation effect of ambidextrous relations in performing innovation adoption. Ambidextrous relations are analyzed within at the micro-AKIS level, through the lens of social capital. Relationships between social capital and innovation adoption are statistically measured.FindingsThe analysis shows how ambidexterity develops a mediation effect, with a strong impact on the farm's innovative capacity. Actually, our results confirm that ambidextrous relations reveal good performance and stimulate innovation and, consequently, farms' competitiveness, alongside the path of multifunctional agriculture. As a consequence, the relevance of networking activity in adoption of sustainable innovation may address possible policy action with the aim to strengthen ambidexterity and farm's innovativeness.Originality/valueThe paper tries to fill a gap in literature, by focusing on micro-AKIS which are explored through the lens of social capital.

An innovation adoption model of licensing-in for US start-ups

Using the Kauffman panel dataset of US start-ups, we analyse the key determinants oflicensing-in adoption. Licensing-in entails an intellectual property contract between the licensor(e.g. upstream established firm) and licensee (e.g. downstream start-up) aiming to bring aninnovation to market rapidly. Assuming maximizing of the owner’s managerial utility in thestart-up years, we explain licensing-in adoption through firm characteristics like size, R&D andcapital structure, as well as other IP types, and controls for year and regional fixed effects, usingpanel probit estimation with adjustments for sample selection bias and endogeneity. We findkey determinants of licensing-in to be owners’ equity, product (rather than service) sales andR&D spend; and then comment on their policy implications for business incubation.

The effect of consumer resistance to innovation on innovation adoption: the moderating role of customer loyalty

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to construct a relationship model between the consumer resistance to innovation (CRI) and innovation adoption, and the study selected the customer loyalty as the moderating variable.Design/methodology/approachBased on questionnaire survey and regression model analysis, the study analyses the psychological processes and formation mechanisms that they either resist or adopt innovation by exploring users' attitudes towards smartphone application updates.FindingsThe results showed that innovation resistance negatively affected innovation adoption, and consumers are more likely to adopt innovations simply under the influence of customer loyalty. In addition, the moderating effect of customer loyalty is different in that how the three dimensions of innovation resistance influence innovation adoption. From the perspective of affective response, when consumers become emotionally disgusted with innovative products, loyalty can hardly change their minds. When consumers' resistance to innovation comes more from cognitive evaluation or functioning, loyalty is more likely to change their resistance.Originality/valueThe paper tests mechanism between customer resist the new product and new product adoption and the moderate effect of customer loyalty.

R&D Innovation Adoption, Climatic Sensitivity, and Absorptive Ability Contribution for Agriculture TFP Growth in Pakistan

Innovation adoptions in agriculture sustain high total factor productivity (TFP) growth and overcome a potential production gap, which is beneficial for food security. Research and development (R&D) innovation adoption in agriculture sector is dependent on producers’ willingness to adopt, knowledge capital spillovers, and financial capacity. This research aims to investigate the impact of R&D innovation adoption and climate factors on agriculture TFP growth in Pakistan. The annual time series data were collected from different sources for the period of 1972–2020. For measuring the agriculture TFP, this study adopted the Cobb Douglas and Translog production functions. To analyze the impact of R&D innovation adoption and climate change on agricultural productivity, the dynamic autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and two-stage least square (TSLS) approaches were applied for regression analysis. The study outcomes highlight that the agricultural innovation adoption has a significantly positive impact on agriculture TFP growth in Pakistan with weak farmers’ absorptive ability. According to the results, agriculture tractors, innovative seed distribution, and fertilizer consumptions make a significantly positive contribution to agriculture TFP growth. Further, rainfall shows a positive and significant impact on agricultural productivity, where a moderate climate is beneficial for agricultural productivity. The estimation results contain policy suggestions for sustainable R&D adoption and agrarians’ absorptive ability. Based on the obtained results, it has been suggested that producers should focus on R&D innovation adoption to attain higher productivity. The government needs to emphasize innovative technology adoption, specifically to implement the extension services to increase farmers’ education, skills based training, and networking among the farmers to enhance their knowledge capital and absorptive ability. The farmers should also focus on the adoption of climate smart agriculture that can be achieved through the proper utilization of rainwater. For this purpose, the government needs to develop small community dams and large-scale dams for better use of rainwater harvesting.

Market viability: a neglected concept in implementation science

This debate paper asserts that implementation science needs to incorporate a key concept from entrepreneurship—market demand—and demonstrates how assessing an innovation’s potential market viability might advance the pace and success of innovation adoption and sustainment. We describe key concepts, language distinctions, and questions that entrepreneurs pose to implementation scientists—many of which implementation scientists appear ill-equipped to answer. The paper concludes with recommendations about how concepts from entrepreneurship, notably market viability assessment, can enhance the translation of research discoveries into real-world adoption, sustained use, and population health benefits. The paper further proposes activities that can advance implementation science’s capacity to draw from the field of entrepreneurship, along with the data foundations required to assess and cultivate market demand.