Enhancing startup-hospital collaborative innovation in a healthcare ecosystem: measuring proximity factors and roles of the ambidextrous hospital innovation intermediary - A mixed-methods exploratory study
This exploratory study examines startup-hospital collaborative innovation within the healthcare ecosystem by measuring four proximity dimensions–cognitive, social, organizational, and geographical–and analyzing their effect on startup satisfaction. Using a mixed-methods design, findings reveal th...
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| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Français |
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2026
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Gaia: | This exploratory study examines startup-hospital collaborative innovation within the healthcare ecosystem by measuring four proximity dimensions–cognitive, social, organizational, and geographical–and analyzing their effect on startup satisfaction. Using a mixed-methods design, findings reveal that cognitive, organizational, and social proximity forms are key drivers of satisfaction. The study extends existing startup typologies by uncovering a new category -Wellness Design startups (low-tech)- emerging from the data. It introduces the concept of the ambidextrous hospital innovation intermediary (AHII), a boundary-spanning actor whose multiple roles–balancing knowledge exploitation and exploration–enable hospitals to enact corporate entrepreneurship and engage more dynamically with their innovation ecosystem. Differences in satisfaction and collaboration priorities are observed across Medtech, Digital Health, and Wellness Design startups. These results advance understanding of how proximity and AHII roles foster innovation at the intersection of corporate entrepreneurship and ecosystem engagement. For practitioners, a proximity-based measurement tool is provided to assess and improve collaboration quality over time.
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