A holistic review and framework for sustainable business models for assisted living technologies and services

Abstract

Despite heavy investment in health and social care sectors in the UK, large scale deployment of assisted living technologies and services (ALTS) continues to face significant obstacles, and the lack of sustainable business models (BM) is widely regarded as one of the greatest hindrances. Based on a systematic review of previous studies, this paper identifies current trends in digital technologies and how they are used in assisted living. We categorise and analyse these technologies and through the lens of diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), we review the concepts and frameworks of BM as used in the literature to suggest conceptual frameworks for sustainable BMs for scalable ALTS in digital economy. This is expected to help in reducing the pressure on the already stretched health and social care services in the UK and other similar economies. Our approach suggests that BM canvas and DOI innovation diffusion characteristics are complements, not substitutes.