An Orchestration Framework for Digital Innovation: Lessons from the Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry is continuously evolving with innovative discoveries and therapies, and at the same time, there is a decline in the research and development productivity leading to an increased cost for payers, providers, and patients. Despite the benefits that digital technologies can have on healthcare innovation, such a highly regulated industry often relies on proven-established technologies and organizational procedures that can be at odds with the new logics of digital innovation. In this article, we will be introducing a digital innovation management (DIM) framework that guides the pursuit of digital innovations in a phase-appropriate and incremental setup (e.g., scale, costs, risks, value evaluations, policies, and resources). The framework is designed and validated through an iterative process of continuous adaptation with local practices in a biopharmaceutical company. DIM provides practical guidance to drive digital innovations that entail different logics compared to traditional innovations, by improving the visibility of the digital innovation process and increasing organizational confidence in pursuing digital innovations and enhancing decision-making effectiveness.