Exchanging knowledge through healthcare manager placements in research teams

This study contributes to service industry theory by revealing how employers in the health service understand knowledge exchange as ‘transaction’. Although under pressure to deliver better services without additional resource, health service providers do not seek customers, making them unlike commercial service industries. This paper reports a UK knowledge exchange programme designed to bring together healthcare managers and researchers. Case study data were gathered from 36 semi-structured interviews with health services managers (Fellows) embedded in research teams, research team leads, and Fellows' workplace line-managers. Interviews were analysed thematically using a coding frame. The importance of personal contact in knowledge exchange mechanisms was confirmed but the knowledge model varied by interaction pairings (Fellow/research team; Fellow/health service). When with researchers, an exchange model was commonly in operation, marked by collaborative engagement. In contrast, line-managers tended to adopt a transactional approach, driven by instrumental motives. This transactional model merits further research.