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In this paper, we contribute to the theorizing of patient involvement in organizational improvement by exploring concepts of “learning from patients” as mechanisms of organizational change. Using the concept of metaphor as a theoretical bridge, we analyse interview data (n = 20) from participants in patient engagement activities from two case study organizations in Ontario, Canada. Inspired by classic organizational scholars, we ask “what is the organization that it might learn from patients?”

Patient involvement activities are used as part of quality improvement efforts in healthcare organizations worldwide. One fundamental assumption underpinning this activity is the notion that organizations must “learn from patients” in order to enact positive organizational change. Despite this emphasis on learning, there is a paucity of research that theorizes learning or connects concepts of learning to organizational change within the domain of patient involvement.

Through our analysis, we interpret a range of metaphors of the organization, including organizations as (1) power and politics, (2) systems and (3) narratives. Through these metaphors, we display a range of possibilities for interpreting how organizations might learn from patients and associated implications for organizational change.

This analysis has implications for how the framing of the organization matters for concepts of learning in patient engagement activities and how misalignments might stymie engagement efforts. We argue that the concept and commitment to “learning from patients” would be enriched by further engagement with the sociology of knowledge and critical concepts from theories of organizational learning.

Health systems are progressively stressed by health spending, which is partially explained by the increase in the cost of health technologies. Countries have defined processes to prioritize interventions to be covered. This study aims to compare for the first time health technology assessment (HTA) processes in Canada and Chile, to explain the factors driving these decisions.

This is a health policy analysis comparing HTA processes in Canada and Chile. An analysis of publicly available documents in Canada (for CADTH) and Chile (for the Ministry of Health (MoH)) was carried out. A recognized political science framework (the 3-I framework) was used to explain the similarities and differences in both countries. The comparison of processes was disaggregated into eligibility and evaluation processes.

CADTH has different programmes for different types of drugs (with two separate expert committees), whereas the MoH has a unified process. Although CADTH’s recommendations have a federal scope, the final coverage is a provincial decision. In Chile, the recommendation has a national scope. In both cases, past recommendations influence the scope of the evaluation. Pharmaceutical companies and patient associations are important interest groups in both countries. Whereas manufacturers and tumour groups are able to submit applications to CADTH, the Chilean MoH prioritizes applications submitted by patient associations.

Institutions, interests and ideas play important roles in driving HTA decisions in Canada and Chile, which is demonstrated in this novel analysis. This paper provides a unique comparison to highly relevant policy processes in HTA, which is often a research area dominated by effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies.

Previous approaches to decision support for project planning using rule‐based expert systems techniques have failed to make an impact in practice. This is primarily because of the complexity and large‐scale nature of construction information, and problems with expert systems including: knowledge acquisition; rule‐based knowledge representation; information storage (or memory); learning; and robustness. Case‐based reasoning is one area of current research which may hold the key to overcoming a number of these problems. In the present paper, previous related case‐based reasoning work is examined. The key factors which influence the formulation of construction project plans are identified. This knowledge is used to develop a conceptual framework within which previous planning experiences can be captured and reused in new situations as a means of providing system decision support in construction planning and control. A prototype system, CBRidge, developed to test and demonstrate the concepts within the framework is presented. The results are very encouraging and provide a sound basis for the further development of case‐based reasoning for construction planning in practice.

The environment for teaching Economics in Australian universities has undergone profound changes. The factors involved are well known: changing public policy goals, market expansion, internationalization, working to study, and an increasingly diverse clientele. This study investigates various changing aspects in the teaching of Economics. Questionnaire and interview data were collected from three stakeholders: students (the consumer), lecturers (the supplier), and Heads of Schools and the Executive Dean (the administrator). Effective communication, clarity of lecture notes, good acoustics, ability to focus on the theme, personality, ability to illustrate with examples were identified by students and staff as essential indicators of good teaching. The study derives some implications: expanding the Faculty Student Resource Centre; flexible and extended consultation hours; and English language support system.

This study aims to show how market orientation (MO), brand (BR) and business strategy (cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy), which play mediating and moderating roles, respectively, can increase competitive advantage (CA). With a focus on brand, market orientation, cost leadership strategy (CS) and differentiation strategy (DS), as well as an analysis of variance control on varying business sizes per business seniority, the current study made a theoretical contribution.

An empirical study was created using a quantitative methodological technique. The surveyed data were collected from 379 managers or owners who participated in a face-to-face survey at different food processing companies in Vietnam. To test the hypotheses, the gathered information was examined utilizing multigroup analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The brand was found to have the greatest positive impact on competitive advantage, followed by a business strategy that positively influenced competitive advantage, and, finally, business strategies that significantly moderated the third strong positive impact between market orientation and competitive advantage. Market orientation has the fourth strong positive impact on competitive advantage, whereas brand has the lowest positive impact on market orientation.

This is the first investigation, according to the authors’ knowledge, into the role of market orientation as a mediator in the relationship between brand and competitive advantage in addition to the regulatory role of business strategy at two strategic levels: cost leadership and strategic focus as well as the difference between competitive advantage and market orientation in the Vietnamese food sector.