HealthTech: critically appraising the innovation ecosystem of a transformative technology

The last decade has seen the rapid emergence of a HealthTech innovation ecosystem seeking to transform and disrupt the health industry. Set in the context of the broader digitalisation and platformisation processes unfolding throughout the economy and society at large, the HealthTech sector is already having a significant impact on the health of individuals and the ways in which they access and receive healthcare. Yet, there remains a relative dearth of literature examining the HealthTech sector, with literature to date predominantly concerned with digital technologies and wearable devices, rather than the more fundamental dynamics of the sector itself. Building on the developing body of work exploring the emergence of other ‘-tech’ industries, this study undertakes an in-depth qualitative examination of HealthTech to uncover how firms come together with financial, governmental and health actors, and wider institutional structures in ways which drive and shape the development of new innovations and technologies. The findings demonstrate how the UK innovation- and health-focused institutional environments combine to meaningfully shape the trajectories and strategies of HealthTech firms, and their abilities to grow and access core markets. Moreover, the research shows the importance placed on, often highly specialised, network resources and social capital by HealthTech firms, and their role in enabling the negotiation of this complex institutional environment, and the development and deployment of the firms’ resources and capabilities in pursuit of innovation.