The Distortion of a Managerial Technique? The Case of Clinical Networks in UK Health Care
研究了英国国家医疗服务体系中癌症临床网络的管理技术，发现其最初的知识共享目标被政府现代化议程扭曲，导致表面采纳而实际影响有限。
Managed networks are increasingly common in the British National Health Service (NHS) as a means of streamlining and standardizing patient care across organizational and professional boundaries. However, there has been limited research regarding whether this technique is the most appropriate management style for delivery of health services. This article draws upon the authors' research on managed clinical networks for cancer in the UK–a model that set out to guide and develop knowledge flows across cancer service providers. It examines how the initial purpose of these networks was distorted by the broader function of New Labour's ‘modernization agenda’, which has ultimately focused on organizational restructuring and adhering to government targets. Our analysis, which develops Lozeau, Langley and Denis's model of the corruption of managerial techniques, suggests that the initial knowledge‐sharing purpose of networks underwent top‐down ‘distortion’ by the demands of central government. This resulted in superficial bottom‐up adoption of the networks model and limited impact upon organizational processes.