Opening the organizational Black Box : AI-enabled work processes and the enactment of organizational routines in healthcare

Sammanfattning

Research question: How do AI-enabled work processes shape the enactment of organizational routines in healthcare? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to open the organizational “black box” by exploring how AI-enabled work processes shape the enactment of organizational routines in a regional Swedish healthcare setting using a Routine Dynamics perspective. Method: The study adopts a qualitative research strategy, drawing on a single-case study research design, to iteratively explore the research question through semi-structed interviews, document review and thematic analysis. Conclusion: AI-enabled work processes shape the enactment of organizational routines in healthcare by becoming deeply embedded in ongoing routine performance, which increasingly depends on situated interactions between human actors, algorithmic artifacts, organizational structures, and regulatory demands. Rather than reducing human involvement, the findings show that AI introduces new forms of ambiguity, constant workarounds, and invisible affective labour, making human actors even more central to organizational routines due to the continuous need for interpretation, validation, and coordination.