Examining the Role of Non- traditional Actors in the Healthcare Supply Chain Network

Pasty Asamoah; Serbe John Marfo; Pauline Boachie-Ansah; Matilda Kokui Owusu-Bio; Evans Amoah; Francis Adomako

Pasty Asamoah Supply Chain and Information Systems, KNUST, Kumasi
Serbe John Marfo Supply Chain and Information Systems, KNUST, Kumasi
Pauline Boachie-Ansah Pharmacy Practice, KNUST, Kumasi
Matilda Kokui Owusu-Bio Supply Chain and Information Systems, KNUST, Kumasi
Evans Amoah Supply Chain and Information Systems, KNUST, Kumasi
Francis Adomako Supply Chain and Information Systems, KNUST, Kumasi

Keywords: Healthcare supply chain network, Non-traditional actors, Supply chain disruptions, Actor-network theory

Abstract

The traditional actors have been the focus of healthcare supply chain network studies over the years. Authors have used linear perspectives to examine the challenges and proposed solutions to them. The non-traditional actors in the HSC network including the regulators, and information technology (IT) service providers have been left unexplored. We argue that the non-traditional HSC actors contribute to the successes and failures in the HSC network, and that there is the need to examine how the non- traditional actors influence the HSC network. We

leverage the actor network theory and the snowball sampling technique to identify and select sixteen (16) actors and interviewed forty-three (43) individuals to examine how the non traditional actors contribute to the successes and failures of the HSC network. We found that, both the regulators, insurance firms and IT service providers influence the HSC network. We discussed the findings, contributions of the study to knowledge and practice, and provided avenues for extending this study.