Filling the Institutional Void: Roles of Associations in China’s Healthcare Sector
Abstract: This paper aims at building a theory of governing mixed public/private IT infrastructure, with particular attention paid to the roles played by such intermediaries as industry associations. The original research question was raised out of our long term observation of the landscape of China’s massive pharmaceutical IT infrastructure building in both the public and private sectors. These projects have the nature of creating collective goods, and the governance structures show some clear distinctions from the traditional textbook models in economics and from established practices in a mature economy as well. Insights gained from the case analysis of the healthcare sector can shed light on many other industries which are in similar situations.
