Public organizations are under constant pressure to reform: digitize services, cut red tape, or absorb new mandates; yet they lack a sector‑specific way to gauge how ready they are for change. Instruments built for private firms ignore public sector realities such as political oversight, statutory constraints, and the need to maintain legitimacy. This dissertation fills that gap by introducing and validating an Organizational Change Capability (OCC) Measurement Scale specifically for public organizations and by showing why a strong OCC matters for change success (CS). The study pursues three linked objectives. First, it builds an integrative framework explaining how context, content, process, leadership, and outcomes interact during change in public organizations. Second, it develops a multi‑dimensional survey instrument with fifteen components and 77 items, that captures those capabilities in language meaningful to public managers. Third, it tests whether higher OCC scores actually translate into better change outcomes. A sequential, five‑study design supports these aims. A systematic literature review (Study 1) distills two decades of public sector change research into a unified nomological network. Guided by this model, Study 2 follows thorough scale‑development steps: expert panels, cognitive interviews, pilot testing, and factor analysis. These steps help craft the OCC survey and confirm its reliability and validity. Study 3 demonstrates a clear positive link between OCC and the CS scale, using structural equation modelling. Study 4 tracks a real‑time military change program over two years, showing OCC scores can rise with concrete management actions such as clarifying cross‑unit responsibilities and trimming procedural delays. Study 5 revisits items dropped during scale refinement; by analyzing outlier items, the research adds a maturity lens, distinguishing basic from advanced capability levels. This dissertation advances theory by conceptualizing OCC as a coherent, higher-order meta-capability in the public sector. The fifteen components empirically converge into a single latent construct that predicts Change Success, rather than operating as isolated practices. In addition, the study develops a structured nomological network for change in public organizations and provides an empirical operationalization of Dynamic Capabilities Theory in a public-sector context. Practically, the dissertation delivers a validated, public-sector-specific measurement scale to assess OCC. Empirical results show that organizations with stronger OCC are more likely to achieve change objectives on time and to sustain performance improvements. The findings also indicate that change capability develops along a continuum, allowing organizations to diagnose their maturity level and to prioritize targeted actions. In essence, the research underscores the importance of structured, data-driven approaches to change in public contexts, moving beyond intuition to informed action, and enabling governments to lead transformation with greater clarity, consistency, and success.
| Date of Award | 9 Jan 2026 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - Royal Military Academy
- University of Ghent
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| Supervisor | Geert Letens (Supervisor), Bert George (Supervisor) & Marleen Easton (Supervisor) |
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