Pathways to autonomy : Chinese physicians' responses to clinical pathways amid institutional complexity
Organizer
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University
Event Title
Sociology Seminar Series 2025-2026
Document Type
Public Seminar
Date
10-16-2025
Time
11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.
Venue
LYH310, Lau Lee Yuen Haan Amenities Building, Lingnan University
Description
Professionals increasingly encounter tools aimed at rationalizing and standardizing their work. Existing research largely conceptualizes their responses to these tools on a continuum from professional resistance to managerial control. But the institutional logics perspective as well as emerging empirical evidence suggest more varied responses and diverse, possibly non-zero-sum, outcomes. Using survey data from 1,116 physicians in China’s public hospitals, we systematically examined physicians’ reactions to pathway implementation and the impacts on clinical autonomy and job satisfaction. Cluster analysis identified four response types: ignoring, where physicians avoided pathways and maintained autonomy; coerced, where imposed pathways reduced autonomy and satisfaction; decoupling, where pathways were adopted superficially, preserving autonomy; and embracing, where physicians actively participated in pathway implementation and enforcement, experiencing high satisfaction and autonomy. The findings help broaden the conceptualization of professionals' reactions to rationalizing tools, uncover multiple pathways to clinical autonomy, and illustrate how professionals navigate institutional complexity in ever-evolving environments.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Jin, L. (2025, Oct 16). Pathways to autonomy: Chinese physicians' responses to clinical pathways amid institutional complexity [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/videos/986/
Additional Information
Speaker
Prof. Lei Jin is associate professor at the Department of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She received her PhD at the University of Chicago and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Scholars in Health Policy Program at Harvard University. Her research interests include social disparities in health and well-being, health lifestyle, healthcare policy and healthcare professions. Her current projects examine social relationships and health across the life course, health disparities and the institutional context and physician autonomy in Chinese hospitals. She has published extensively in prestigious international journals.