Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply the image theory to the hospital context in order to add a perspective into the known complex relationship between physicians and hospital managers. This insight can enrich current intervention schemes used in health care to facilitate...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the aspects of being a physician that such medical professionals mention in dialogue groups when given the opportunity to choose their own topics of discussion. Design/methodology/approach – Over a period of two years, 60 physicians...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why a decision to merge two university hospitals in a public context might occur by using an in‐depth case study of the pre‐merger process of Karolinska University Hospital. Design/methodology/approach – Based on extensive...

Purpose – Inquiries into healthcare organisations have highlighted organisational or system failure, attributed to poor responses to early warning signs. One response, and challenge, is for professionals and academics to build capacity for quality and safety research to provide evidence for...

Purpose – This paper aims to identify variation in the introduction of New Public Management reforms in healthcare and how this variation is related to country‐specific healthcare states. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis uses the introduction of clinical standards in Britain and...

Purpose – This paper seeks to identify different medical strategies adopted in relation to the new hospital payment systems in Germany, The Netherlands and England and analyse how the medical strategies have impacted on the emergence of these New Public Management policy tools between 2002 and...

Purpose – This paper aims to attempt to explore current transformations in hospital governance by tracing the evolution of medical autonomy in the Belgian hospital sector in the second half of the twentieth century. Design/methodology/approach – Using published secondary sources and archive...

Purpose – This paper sets out to explore health professionals' views and experiences regarding the work culture that exists in their hospital units, and further how patients influence these experiences. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a qualitative approach involving...

Purpose – This paper seeks to draw attention to the historical and institutional context of Norwegian home care and to the way in which care agencies have been pressed to reconcile competing demands caused by conflicting policy aims and administrative values. The paper also aims to explore how...

Purpose – The new “agenda of choice” in public services emphasises service users' needs and agency. The ideals of consumerism and user involvement have set new challenges for professionals. This paper aims to explore the effects of consumerism and user involvement at the level of...