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Ambidexterity refers to the ability to balance contradictory items and has been extensively described in relation to technological advancement in large-sized manufacturing firms. Few studies on hospitality and tourism firms have described the balancing of innovative developments, often focusing on the operational level of firms. Ambidexterity could though be understood also in dimensions of customer/market development and collaborative interaction. This paper describes and discusses ambidexterity in the dimensions of technological advancement, customer/market development and collaborative interaction in service firms to inspire this debate and bridge the gap between strategy and the service field.

A case study describing a service firm's 25-year development functions as the empirical source of inspiration to understand how service firms also in tourism and hospitality sectors would work with strategies and their developments related to technology, customers and collaboration. The case study is analysed using an activity-based time schedule to capture dimensions of ambidexterity and how they are linked to one another.

The findings indicate how the service firm balanced exploitation and exploration over time, rather than allowing such activities to occur simultaneously and in parallel. Generally, the firm only managed to explore in one dimension at the time.

The paper broadens the lens on ambidexterity to include collaboration and customer involvement and the link among the various dimensions of ambidexterity. It also discusses how ambidexterity in these dimensions may be handled by service firms so as to inspire strategic developments among tourism and hospitality firms.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main characteristics of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) practice in health care services

The paper uses a case study approach focusing on three health care organisations in Sweden using the BSC. The focus is upon different management levels in a hierarchical branch in each organisation.

The paper concludes that the BSC is used as a tool for improving internal capabilities and supporting organisational development. More specifically, the BSC is used as a tool by management and employees in discussions, information dissemination, knowledge creation, follow‐up and reporting processes. Instead of using the BSC as a tool to implement and communicate strategy formulated by management it is used as a tool for opening up the organisation and providing a foundation for an improvement dialogue, which consequently increases the demands on management.

The paper contributes to changing the focus in existing research away from the design and construction of the BSC towards its use in managerial work.

The paper emphasises important aspects in using the BSC in a health care context that will help managers in improving performance measurements.

The paper shows that the use of the BSC includes several aspects, such as the purpose of the system, implementation process, actions taken and the expected contribution.

Many Swedish health care organizations have during the last decade started implementing the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a systematic way of following‐up and analyzing their activities. However, the knowledge of its use and contribution in a health care context is insufficient. Based on a multiple case study the authors explore the use of the BSC in the Swedish health care services. The authors conclude that the concept in a health care context is used as a quality management tool that make new demands on management. In addition, the authors bring out important factors for a long‐term use of the BSC.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a performance measurement system called “the flow model” is designed to measure changes towards lean thinking in health care services.

The paper integrates literature from the health care sector and the lean production movement in order to understand whether lean thinking is applicable in healthcare and thereby identify key performance indicators that measure changes towards lean thinking in health care. The flow model is discussed in relation to this measurement framework.

The paper finds that lean thinking is applicable in health care settings, and that the flow model is a suitable tool for following up these initiatives. However, it is argued that the flow model needs to be balanced with other measurements in order to receive a complete picture of lean performance.

The paper shows that the framework of measurements may be used in empirical research of assessing changes towards lean thinking in health care settings.

The paper shows that health care practitioners may use the findings to develop measurements of the outcome of lean initiatives on existing care processes.

The paper shows analysis and discussion of the application of an industrial concept – Lean Production – in health care services.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the knowledge base on how performance measurement drives improvements in healthcare practice.

The study is based on a single in-depth case study. The critical incident technique (CIT) has been applied in order to identify significant occurrences of performance measurement in terms of events, incidents, processes, and issues identified by respondents from the case organization. These critical incidents have been analysed and interpreted using a theoretical framework suggesting that performance measurement may be applied for exploratory or regulatory purposes as well as ad hoc or continuously in healthcare practice.

The study suggests that performance measurement may be a versatile method for driving improvement in healthcare organizations. Six types of activities directly or indirectly drive improvement in the clinical department: continuous follow-up in formal arenas and meetings; improvement work; professional efforts; goal deployment; reporting based on external demands; and creating awareness in everyday clinical work. Healthcare organizations that strive to practice performance measurement as a driver for improvement need to find infrastructures in which it is being integrated into the daily life of organizational healthcare practice.

The study provides an original account of the prerequisites and actions for driving improvement through performance measurement in a healthcare setting. Since the operations management perspective in healthcare is significantly lacking, the study offers a unique perspective which may be the basis for both practice development and further scholarly inquiry and theory development.