As calls to make the US’s healthcare industry more efficient have become louder, many hospitals and provider organizations have hired C-suite-level executives — so-called “chief innovation officers” (CIOs) — to head their healthcare transformation efforts.

According to a joint Harvard Business School, Duke University and Russell Reynolds Associates study of the trend, many of the individuals chosen to fill those roles are “talented and passionate innovation leaders,” but aren’t well positioned to show results.

Too few organizations, the group found, give their CIOs the tools they need to be successful.

“Many of these innovation leaders were not yet set up for success,” lead researchers Sneha Shah Jain and Kevin A. Schulman wrote in an op-ed for Health Affairs, “based on three key parameters of innovation theory: separation of the innovation unit into an entity that exists outside of the ongoing organization, direct-line communication with the CEO and the board of directors, and adequate resources.”

“Health care organizations, like most businesses, are designed to produce predictable financial performance,” they noted. “Yet, innovation is inherently unpredictable. Predicting financial success of investments in novel ideas, novel teams, and novel business designs is a challenge for even full-time professional investors.”

Read their full report here, in Health Affairs