Abstract
Successfully implementing enterprise-level technical transformational programs is a primary goal for large-scale healthcare organizations. As an open system, healthcare organizations must constantly adapt to a highly volatile marketplace where technology underpins services' supply and demand. External drivers include adapting to changing customer demographics, healthcare market standards, and federal regulations; a prime example is a recent response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These external factors drive internal transformation that translates into developing new product lines, business processes, and technology, requiring strategic orchestration to survive and thrive in the marketplace. This study found that employing a transformational change approach can help healthcare organizations respond to the demands of the dynamic healthcare industry, proactively reshape their business strategy and process, and improve work culture while meeting market demands. The purpose of the action research study was to qualitatively investigate and explore the experience of a healthcare organization’s participants engaged in a multi-year, enterprise-level technical transformation program to identify the factors for successful implementation utilizing an action research collaborative inquiry approach. The results of Lessons Learned and Stakeholder Satisfaction surveys document the transformation program's performance and satisfaction throughout the program's multiple phases. The researcher collected data, coded it, and identified common themes analyzed by the research group, which consisted of the researcher and six Transformation Program team members who volunteered to participate in the research group based on their lived experience of the Transformation Program. The research findings identified organizationally strategic, structural alignments, and leadership accountability emerging themes which are delivered utilizing Kate and Galbraith’s (2007) Star Model for Innovation.