The organizational change capability of public organizations: Concept and measurement

IMPACT: Public managers, professionals, and external consultants can utilize the authors’ newly developed ‘organizational change capability’ (OCC) scale to assess and enhance change capabilities within their organizations. This comprehensive diagnostic tool systematically evaluates a public sector organization’s ability to adapt across 15 distinct components, including employee engagement, strategic planning, cohesive team with common purpose, strategic analysis, learning culture, bureaucratic inertia, managing attitudes towards change, organizational values, project mandate, information management, enduring change, stakeholder management, innovative experimentation, external environmental awareness, and knowledge management. Noteworthy additions such as bureaucratic inertia and stakeholder management that reflect the unique challenges in public sector environments by highlighting common organizational hindrances and the importance of diverse stakeholder interests. This scale not only allows for an overall assessment of an organization's change capability but also pinpoints specific strengths and weaknesses, facilitating targeted improvements and self-evaluation. By leveraging this scale, public sector organizations can significantly improve their efficacy and responsiveness to dynamic external pressures, thus enhancing their overall change success rate.