Innovation Management Professionals in Healthcare: Knowledge and Legitimacy.

This study provides insights into innovation management practice at a hospital and explores how having a personal certification as an innovation management professional can play a role. The study was conducted at a large university hospital in Sweden and interviews were made with certified innovation management professionals working at the hospitals' Center for Innovation. Identified main drivers for entering the certification process were different aspects related to legitimacy but also related to enhance the knowledge from different aspects. At present, the urge for legitimization of innovation management appears even stronger in the healthcare context than identified in earlier studies. Since innovation management is an emerging area, a personal certification is not only legitimizing the individual, but also the area in itself. Identified effects from the personal certifications was a raised legitimacy but also an enhanced clarity of contribution of innovation management compared to e.g. research and improvement work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]