Links between governance, incentives and outcomes: a review of the literature

This report explores the incentive effects of different forms of governance of health-care organisations. Building on a multidisciplinary literature review, it seeks to map a new terrain of research and to suggest an agenda for the future that will make sense to stakeholders in health and research communities. The report addresses the Governance–Incentives–Outcomes (GIO) model. Taking markets, hierarchies and networks as contrasting forms of governance, it asks what evidence there is that these give rise to different incentives and hence to different outcomes. We examine the state of play in five disciplinary areas, before bringing these together and setting them in the context of the NHS.