Healthcare got smart : the effect of smart technology on business models in the Norwegian healthcare industry : a qualitative exploration

Abstract

The healthcare industry is faced with significant challenges such as urbanization, an aging and growing population and scarce labour resources. To comprehend with these challenges, companies are now providing smart healthcare solutions that take use of advanced technology to deliver higher quality services. Despite increased interest in this novel field from industry, scientific literature on smart health is limited. Furthermore, research on smart health from a business perspective remains unexplored. Thus, the question arises how technology affect business models in healthcare, and how mangers can design their business models to become smart. We aim to address this questions by a two-step approach. First, we categorize a sample of 52 smart health companies in the Norwegian market, according to the main features of their business model. Second, based on a multiple-case study with eight in depth-interviews, we generate archetypes of emerging business models. Further, we reveal the motivations, strengths and challenges related to each model. We have generated four types of smart business models in the Norwegian healthcare industry: The Inverted Razor-Blade, the One-time Payment, The Long-term Subscription, and The Platform. Additionally, we generated two sub-models within the Long-term Subscription model and the Platform model. To successfully create and maintain a business model founded on smart technology, the thesis provides several important contributions: Companies must tailor value propositions to specific customers and deliver it through secure software channels. Further, managers should employ a structure for revenue and costs that ensures long-term profits and reflect plans for global scaling. By using a business model framework, this thesis contributes to the emerging field of smart health, and we contribute to close the scientific gap on the intersection of smart health and business model literature. Further, we provide managers with a roadmap for making a company smart. The study also serves policy makers with novel insight on several key factors for decision making. We present a thorough and highly relevant literature on the effect of smart technology on business models, and the motivation, strengths and challenges of the emerging business models.