The effect of transformational and authentic leadership characteristics of health administrators on the innovation climate and innovative work behaviour

This study aims at investigating the effects of transformational and authentic leadership skills of health administrators on the innovation climate and innovative work behaviour. Transformational and authentic leadership was defined as the determinant of innovative work behaviour; and innovation climate was used as the mediating variable. For the model designed, Transformational Leadership Questionnaire, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Innovative Climate Assessment Tool and Innovative Work Behavior Scale were translated into Turkish and checked for language validity. The research was conducted between 24.04.2017 and 23.06.2017 in 19 hospitals in Ankara for which the required permissions had been obtained. The population of the study included middle and low level administrators working in the administrative units of hospitals. The aim was to reach the whole population so the study did not employ a sampling method. Of 377 people included in the population, 279 participated in the study and surveys of 263 participants were accepted valid. Rate of participation in the study was 69.76%. Data obtained from the study were analysed with SPSS 21.00 and LISREL 9.30 software. Scales were tested for reliability and construct validity. The analyses indicated high reliability and construct validity levels for the scales used in the study. Hypotheses of the study were investigated by using structural equation modelling. The study revealed that transformational leadership and authentic leadership had positive effects on innovation climate and innovative work behaviour. Differences were detected among the groups in terms of some of the socio-demographic variables. The results of the study indicated the existence of a strong positive relationship between transformational leadership and authentic leadership. While transformational leadership skills of the administrators mostly affected the innovation climate, authentic leadership skills of the administrators mostly affected innovative work behaviour. Key words Leadership, Innovation, Hospital, Hospital Administrator, Middle Level Administrator, Low Level Administrator, Deputy Chief Physician, Deputy Director, Unit Supervisor