Measurement of Perceived Organizational Readiness for Change in the Public Sector

Abstract

Using the act frequency approach we developed and operationalized two constructs: perceived organizational readiness for change and perceived organizational unreadiness for change. Using a sample drawn from five Canadian public sector organizations, it was found that perceived readiness for change can be conceptualized with three sub‐constructs: commitment of senior managers to the change, competence of change agents, and support of the immediate manager. Perceived unreadiness for change had two sub‐constructs: poor communication of change and adverse impact of change on work. Using structural equation modelling techniques, the measurement scales of all these constructs were tested for reliability and validity using job stress and perceived organizational support as outcome variables.