The Role of Individual and Organizational Expertise in the Adoption of New Practices

55 Pages Posted: 19 May 2018

See all articles by Brad N. Greenwood

Brad N. Greenwood

George Mason University - Department of Information Systems and Operations Management

Ritu Agarwal

University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business

Rajshree Agarwal

University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business

Anandasivam Gopal

Nanyang Business School

Date Written: May 4, 2018

Abstract

New information pertinent to organizational decision making, even when publicly available, may not diffuse rapidly in the form of adoption and transformation of organizational practices. In this study, we examine how different markers of expertise, each representative of human capital at both individual and organizational levels, moderates the speed of response to new information. We do so in the context of medical device utilization, viz. stents, for the treatment of stable coronary arterial disease by physicians practicing in hospitals. Results show physicians possessing specialized expertise developed through deliberate practice adopt new guidelines significantly faster, as compared with physicians endowed with general expertise reflected in elite schooling or tenure. Further, we observe significant spillovers within organizations from expertise gained through deliberate practice, indicating physicians with expertise markers associated with deliberate practice are able to act as influential agents and help diffuse new practices within the organization. Our study thus extends the literature on both information diffusion and expertise by providing quantitative and qualitative evidence of the mechanisms at play in the adoption of new best practices.

Keywords: information adoption, physician decision making, expert decision making, deliberate practice, healthcare, medical guidelines

Suggested Citation

Greenwood, Brad and Agarwal, Ritu and Agarwal, Rajshree and Gopal, Anandasivam, The Role of Individual and Organizational Expertise in the Adoption of New Practices (May 4, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3173782 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3173782

Brad Greenwood (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Information Systems and Operations Management ( email )

4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
United States

Ritu Agarwal

University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business ( email )

College Park, MD 20742-1815
United States

Rajshree Agarwal

University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business ( email )

College Park, MD 20742-1815
United States

Anandasivam Gopal

Nanyang Business School ( email )

S3 B2-A28 Nanyang Avenue
Singapore, 639798
Singapore

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
176
Abstract Views
1,519
Rank
308,073
PlumX Metrics