Date of Award
9-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
First Advisor
Michael Hadani
Abstract
This dissertation examines how macro-level actors in the sterile processing industry utilize social connectedness and experiential surfacing to facilitate the sensegiving process in the adoption of disruptive technologies. Drawing on the institutional work theory, this study focuses on the actions of individual actors aimed at creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutions in the context of sterile processing—a critical yet often overlooked sector of healthcare.
This research specifically explores how the sterile processing industry responded to the adoption of disruptive technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analyzing over 1,100 podcast episodes, the study examines the rhetorical strategies used by industry leaders and professionals. The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) system was employed to measure the impact of these communication strategies on technology sentiment, providing a nuanced understanding of how language shapes perceptions in this critical healthcare sector.
Key findings reveal that empathy, assertiveness, and friendliness significantly influence technology sentiment when used in sensegiving, while components of social connectedness, including compassion, collaboration, and confrontation, also play crucial roles. These results highlight the importance of language and framing in promoting the adoption of disruptive technologies within institutionalized settings.
This research advances the theoretical understanding of institutional work by illustrating how experiential surfacing and social connectedness moderate the sensegiving process. The findings offer practical guidance for healthcare leaders, particularly those in sterile processing, on how to effectively communicate and engage their teams in the adoption of new technologies. Additionally, the study highlights the need for future research to investigate the role of vocal tone and emotional cues, which are critical components in fully capturing the dynamics of sensegiving in oral communication.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Wall, Marjorie, "Macro Level Sensegiving of Disruptive Innovation in Sterile Processing" (2024). Executive DBA Dissertations. 6.
https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/executive-dba/6
