A Theoretical Mathematical Model for Identifying Critical Success Factors in the Digital Transformation of Medical Laboratory Services

Most healthcare services and specifically, laboratory organizations focus the discourse of digitalization processes primarily as technological vehicles and limit managerial approaches & process mechanisms limiting success. Previous research emphasizes the importance of digital technologies for efficiency enhancement and data availability but often considers critical success factors in isolation and without an explicit formalization of interdependencies. Consequently, the judgement of digital transformation effects continues to be conceptually uniform and impossible to analyse comparatively accross organisational contexts. This article presents a theoretical mathematical model that aims to identify and structure the critical success factors of digital transformation in medical laboratory services. The methodology used is formal and conceptual, since it defines the key constructs, evaluation criteria, and functional relationships without seeking empirical testing at this stage. Within this field, we read success in digital transformation as a kind of managerial and process performance that arises from the alignment between how technological features manifest in operational processes and decision-making mechanisms. The framework that is developed in this study incorporates four core dimensions: strategic alignment, process controllability, performance indicator use as decision-support tools and technological investment. We operationalize these dimensions through normalized composite variables and then aggregate them together using alternative linear and multiplicative functional forms to generate multiple compensatory or non-compensatory assessments of digital transformation success. The model encourages focusing on process stability and quality of service while making data-driven managerial decisions instead of treating technology as an end-all determinant. The major addition of this paper is offering a consistent mathematical-oriented conceptual framework that allows the systematic evaluation on maturity of the digital transformation for medical laboratory services. The proposed model can serve as a useful basis for conducting future empirical studies, comparative assessments and the design of decision-support tools in regulated and quality-critical healthcare settings.