Transformational Leadership as a Catalyst for Knowledge Management in Primary Health Care: A Descriptive Analysis at the Main Family Medicine Centre (QKMF), Prizren, Kosovo

Abstract

Abstract

Background:
Knowledge management (KM) has become an essential organizational capability for modern healthcare systems, influencing patient safety, service quality, and innovation. Leadership is recognized as the most critical enabler of effective KM, as it determines vision, culture, and resource allocation. In primary care systems such as those in Kosovo, where resources are constrained and learning infrastructures remain underdeveloped, leadership capacity is decisive for knowledge creation and transfer.

Aim:
This study investigates how leadership practices influence KM implementation and sustainability in the Main Family Medicine Centre (QKMF) in Prizren, Kosovo. It synthesizes international literature and contextual evidence to identify enablers, barriers, and actionable strategies that can advance KM maturity within primary healthcare institutions.

Methods:
A descriptive analytical design was applied, combining a structured narrative review of peer-reviewed literature (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, WHO documentation, up to June 2025) with an institutional analysis of QKMF Prizren. The assessment considered leadership structures, knowledge processes, training, and information systems using publicly available documents and managerial observations.

Results:
Findings demonstrate that transformational and distributed leadership styles, formalized KM roles, investment in digital repositories, and communities of practice (CoPs) correlate with stronger knowledge flows and clinical standardization. Conversely, the absence of KM policy, limited IT infrastructure, managerial skill gaps, and competing clinical pressures impede KM implementation.

Conclusion:
Leadership that embeds KM into governance, performance monitoring, and professional development can transform primary healthcare performance. For QKMF Prizren, small-scale investments in leadership training, procedural design, and digital organization—anchored in explicit KM strategy—can yield disproportionate gains in service quality and resilience.

Keywords: Knowledge management, transformational leadership, primary healthcare, Kosovo, QKMF Prizren, organizational learning, healthcare governance.