Grow with the flow

Innovation in healthcare depends as much on location as on the ideas themselves, according to research in the International Journal of Business Innovation and Research. The work examined how knowledge moves between clinicians and medical-technology companies and showed that the exchange of expertise consistently boosts innovation, but that the impact varies across different regions.

The researchers focused on “knowledge spillovers”, the informal sharing of ideas, practices, and technical insights that occurs through professional networks, conferences, or via social media. They used open-innovation theory and regional-innovation-systems research to show that these spillovers matter everywhere, but yield markedly greater benefits in regions with well-developed knowledge economies. These are areas characterised by dense professional networks, strong digital infrastructure and a concentration of medical-technology activity.

Although clinicians and employees of the companies in this sector reported similar levels of knowledge exchange, neither professional background nor regional competitiveness alone explained much of the variation. The authors suggest that opportunities for basic interaction may now be widespread, reflecting the increasing integration of healthcare delivery and medical-technology development. Social media, in particular, has become a routine conduit for cross-regional exchange, narrowing the gap between organisational types.

However, those regions with the strongest innovation ecosystems experienced more knowledge spillover and this led to more advances, such as new medical devices, improved clinical processes, and more responsive digital tools. Faster circulation of ideas, better use of online platforms and proximity to specialist expertise all boosted knowledge sharing and its effects. Regions with only weak connections or fewer specialist clusters experience only modest gains from knowledge spillover.

The bottom line is that there is actually a three-way interaction among spillover, profession, and region. A clinician and an engineer in the medical technology area might share similar information, but what their organisations can do with that knowledge depends heavily on the institutional and infrastructural support in which they are embedded.

Zilahi-Lugbauer, M. and Stummer, H. (2025) ‘Impacts of geographic region on knowledge spillover effects and innovation performance in healthcare’, Int. J. Business Innovation and Research, Vol. 38, No. 7, pp.1–17.