Fostering performance management in healthcare: insights into the role of big data

Purpose>This study aims to understand how Big Data foster a greater acceptance of performance management systems (PMS) discourses in health care.Design/methodology/approach>This paper focusses on the case of head and neck cancer treatment and prevention and benefits from the analysis of archival sources and 19 interviews with physicians in the field. It uses the framework of the Middle Range theory (MRT) to understand whether, in the case of head and neck cancer, Big Data may favour the enactment of PMS discourses in health care, in turn benefiting from any improvement in PMS.Findings>This study setting unveils the changing pathway known as reorientation through boundary management. Medical professionals internalized and even mobilized PMS discourses, showing the premises for evolutionary changes in the future, when the current limitations will be dealt with.Originality/value>This paper offers new theoretical, practical and policymaking insights into how new technologies can foster positive PMS discourses among actors who usually resist them. This value also extends to different fields and contexts.