Transformational leadership style in the relationship between innovation and efficiency of healthcare units in Poland

Research background: In today’s turbulent times, organizations face the challenge of fulfilling many complex requirements while at the same time they have to adjust to ongoing changes. The necessary changes that would allow for resolving these problems should, first of all, involve a new approach to human resource management and, in particular, the role of leadership in healthcare units. Numerous studies conducted over the years confirm the growing importance of leadership in modern organizations, especially in the healthcare sector. Purpose of the article: The main goal of the project is to identify the relationships between innovative leadership and the organizational efficiency of healthcare units in the context of innovation levels. The article discusses the research hypotheses concerning the existence of a relationship between management innovation and transformational leadership style in healthcare units, the existence of a relationship between transformational leadership style and the efficiency of healthcare units, the existence of a relationship between management innovation and the efficiency of healthcare units. Methods: The survey was conducted in 100 randomly selected healthcare units in Poland. The analysis of interdependencies was performed, among others, with the use of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the Kendall rank correlation coefficient, the coefficient of colligation, and a chi-squared test, while the measures were chosen based on their adequacy for correlated variables and their distribution. In order to verify the hypotheses formulated in the study, a number of statistical methods were applied, e.g. descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. Findings & Value added: The key result of the study identifies the role of transformational leader-ship style in the relationship between the level of innovativeness and efficiency in healthcare units. The article also points to practical implications that may contribute to improved management practices in healthcare units.