Digital transformation of hospitals: how to collaborate with start-ups? The case of setting up a medical telemonitoring activity

In order to demonstrate the benefits of their digital solutions or to develop new ones, start-ups initiate collaborations with hospitals. Much is at stake for the hospital and the start-up alike - in terms of innovation, exploration of new technologies, and organizational learning. However, only a few studies based on neo-institutional theory focus on their interactions while positioning themselves from the perspective of start-ups. Drawing on a longitudinal case study, this article's purpose is to highlight the construction of a distributed collective action among actors with complementary roles, aiming to design a digital tool, promote its adoption, and strengthen its institutional recognition. We will focus on the interactions (modalities, objectives, and outcomes) between start-ups and hospitals, as well as the contribution of these collaborations to transformations within the hospital. According to research, there seems to be a process of oscillation between learning and experimentation, which leads to the structuring of the hospital, in its connections with start-ups and the emergence of new hospital activities and the transformation of its professions in a context of major contemporary challenges to be addressed.