Emergence of learning and quality - using scientific social media facilitating a complex adaptive space in healthcare

Organizations are currently challenged to learn and develop quality at an increasing speed, as well as to navigate rising levels of complexity. This calls for new approaches to facilitating learning and quality as phenomena emerging in interconnected complex ecosystems of stakeholders. This paper explores the possibilities of facilitating the emergence of learning and quality in transformation and complexity with the support of scientific social media.

The paper is based on a qualitative research design. Using scientific social media [SSM] for reflection and dialogue with an action research approach, it allows individuals with specific roles/functions linked to a transformative process to reflect on strong emotional experiences and action-oriented assignments. This can be described as equipping the ecosystem with sensors to capture systemic obstacles and levers.

As a result, a triad with three themes of action possibilities for facilitating emergence was identified, with the support of scientific social media: (1) creating a living arena for emergence; (2) learning for emergence and (3) leading for emergence in transformation.

Future research could benefit from using scientific social media and combined qualitative and quantitative data to study quality and learning as emerging phenomena. Practically, organizations could use SSM for health system transformation.

This paper provides empirical insights and new innovative ways of conducting research when exploring complex transformational changes in healthcare and the emergence paradigm of quality management.