• Maria do Carmo Caccia-Bava, Valerie C K Guimaraes, and Tor Guimaraes.
• University Medical Center, University of São Paulo Medical School, Ribeirao Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Int J Health Care Qual Assur. 2009 Jan 1; 22 (5): 454-70.

PurposeHospitals have adopted new policies, methods and technologies to change their processes, improve services, and support other organizational changes necessary for better performance. The literature regarding the four major areas of strategic leadership, competitive intelligence, management of technology, and specific characteristics of the organization's change process propose their importance in successfully implementing organization innovation. While these factors may indeed be important to enhance hospital performance, the existing literature contains limited empirical evidence supporting their relationship to successfully implementing innovation in hospitals. This study aims to empirically test these relationships proposed in the literature by researchers in separate knowledge areas.Design/Methodology/ApproachA survey of 223 hospitals has been used to test an integrated model of these relationships. The response rate and the representativeness of the sample in terms of hospital size and geographical location were found satisfactory. The quality assurance/compliance managers for each hospital were the target respondents to questions, which require a corporate perspective while reducing the chance of bias for questions regarding top management leadership abilities.FindingsThe results provide clear evidence about the importance of strategic leadership, competitive intelligence, management of technology, and specific characteristics of the hospital's change process to the hospitals success in implementing innovation.Practical ImplicationsGiven the importance of hospitals to change their processes, improve services, and support other organizational changes necessary for better performance, a great benefit is that the main factors for successful innovation have been brought together from scattered literature and tested among hospitals. Further, the items used for measuring the main constructs provide further insights into how hospital administrators should go about developing these areas within their organizations.Originality/ValueThis study is a first attempt at empirically testing the importance of strategic leadership, competitive intelligence, management of technology, and specific characteristics of the hospital's change process for the success of innovation efforts.

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