Ideas with Impact
UNB Faculty of Management

Digital technologies and human collaboration can transform healthcare, creating systems that are not only efficient but truly adaptive to patient needs. This is the key finding of a recent study by Dr. Sampath Bemgal, a business professor at the University of New Brunswick’s faculty of management. Entitled, “Generative mechanisms of IT-enabled transformation of a hospital laboratory: A critical realist evaluation,” the study was co-written with Nicole Haggerty at Ivey Business School and published in the Journal of Strategic Information Systems (September 2025).

Dr. Bemgal’s study looked at how a hospital laboratory successfully transformed its operations by combining new technologies with changes in processes and staff practices. The study identified four key mechanisms that made the transformation sustainable: breaking old ways of doing things, aligning staff mindsets, automating workflows, and leveraging both technology and new information to continuously improve. The result of this transformation was quicker, safer, and more efficient patient testing.

This study provides insights into how hospitals can use digital technologies to improve patient safety, become more efficient, and make data driven decisions. Moreover, says Dr. Bemgal, “It provides a framework for organizations on how to manage socio-technical change. Hospitals can replicate the generative mechanisms identified in this study to digitally transform their departments.”

Dr. Bemgal suggests that broader implications of the study are that “… it promotes systems thinking, emphasizes importance of continuous training and aligning of mindsets, automation, and adopting a transformative way of thinking when embarking on a system change.”

The hospital featured in the study is located in Ontario, Canada, and the mechanisms and frameworks observed in the study are now being used to explain the laboratory transformation process to visiting healthcare professionals. “The hospital manager told me that they provided a structure when having conversations”, says Dr. Bemgal.

This research goes beyond theory—it offers a practical roadmap for healthcare organizations seeking to modernize operations. By applying the generative mechanisms identified in the study, hospitals and other service-based organizations can structure conversations, align teams, and implement technology-driven improvements that lead to safer, faster, and more efficient outcomes. The framework serves as a blueprint for managing socio-technical change across diverse sectors, ensuring transformation efforts are both sustainable and impactful.

Dr. Bemgal teaches management of information systems courses at the faculty of management. His research focuses on understanding and theorizing complex digital changes in organizations.

Photo: New research by UNB business professor Dr. Sampath Bemgal show how a hospital laboratory successfully transformed its operations by combining new technologies with changes in processes and staff practices.

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Media contact

Liz Lemon-Mitchell
Lizabeth.Lemonmitchell@unb.ca