90

The duties of the health executive have undergone a managerial shift since the directives of the HPST law. In hospitals, managers outside the health care sector can now supervise in that sector. A new healthcare executive must learn their duties and take ownership of their new role. This is all the more complicated when they come from a different sector. In an environment where occupational expertise is very important for achieving professional recognition, how does a manager from a different sector gain legitimacy in their position? Our research project looks into the process of the legitimacy construction for health care executives in and outside the health care system. The research objective is to compare the use of expertise and leadership as sources of legitimacy by the two categories of executives, to identify the strategies put in place, and to characterize the types of legitimacy obtained.