The development of personalised medicine depends on collaboration between multiple stakeholders, who must navigate uncertainty while shaping expectations of future value.
A recent study from the University of Eastern Finland examines how companies take part in this process and what kinds of challenges and opportunities emerge.
The study is based on 23 interviews with key actors in Finland, including companies, public sector organisations and academic stakeholders. The findings show that shared understandings of the future are built through ongoing dialogue, where stakeholders interpret and anticipate developments in the field.
Three main ways of framing the future of personalised medicine were identified. First, stakeholders assess potential benefits, such as improved health outcomes and cost savings. Second, they seek to combine resources and expertise to create value. Third, they form expectations about how the emerging field will develop and what kinds of opportunities it may offer.
At the same time, collaboration presents challenges. Company participation in early-stage innovation may be limited by differing interests, slow processes and a lack of shared understanding between stakeholders.
“Developing personalised medicine requires continuous dialogue between stakeholders. The key challenge is aligning different goals and perspectives,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Ida Parkkinen from the University of Eastern Finland.
The study provides new insights into how future value is constructed in complex collaborative environments. The findings are relevant for both research and policymaking related to healthcare innovation.
The study was published in Innovation: Organization & Management.
Research article:
Parkkinen, I., Lehtimäki, H., & Leppälä, K. (2026). Business venture sensemaking on the future value of personalised medicine: Healthcare innovation in a multistakeholder setting. Innovation: Organization & Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/14479338.2026.2689396
