Open innovation and technology adoption during emergency. Lessons from a case study in telemedicine in time of COVID-19

Faced with dramatic pressures connected with COVID-19, the health systems were challenged by the need of providing care to COVID-19 patients, without jeopardising the lives of physicians. Telemedicine was a candidate solution, but just having a well-performing technology is not enough. Theoretical models on technology adoption alert that to be effectively and timely adopted, technology – e.g. telemedicine – has to be accepted. In this article, we investigate the innovation journey of a firm (Firm A) that designed and developed a telemedicine platform, collaborating with different actors – adopters (physicians, nurses and patients) and health decision-makers – according to an open innovation (OI) approach. During the COVID-19 emergency, Firm A has rapidly and successfully modified its product to provide a Local Health District with an effective solution for patients monitoring. The case study shows an interwoven relationship between the OI approach adopted in the development of the telemedicine platform and the acceptance of the technology itself, paving the way to a new role for OI: not only an enabler supporting knowledge exchanges, but also an enabler of Technology Acceptance.