Introducing the Contextual Ambidexterity Scale for Public Organizations (CASPO): Scale development and initial evidence
Introducing the Contextual Ambidexterity Scale for Public Organizations (CASPO): Scale development and initial evidence

Summary/Abstract: Contextual ambidexterity describes the organizational capacity of beingsimultaneously able to adapt and change in the face contextual requirements while keepingalignment and predictability. Contextual ambidexterity has been recognized as anappropriate explanation of organizational performance, and its influence has alreadypermeated accounts of public organizations’ dynamics. We join this line of reasoning bysuggesting that some specific characteristics of public organizations call for refinement ofthe contextual ambidexterity concept, and the correspondent evolution in measuring thisorganizational ability, thus introducing the Contextual Ambidexterity Scale for PublicOrganizations (CASPO). We suggest going beyond the original measure of alignment andadaptability created by Gibson and Birkinshaw (2004), to include psychological safety,reflexive spaces, and flexibility as sub-dimensions of adaptability and imprinting, rulefollowing and shared vision as sub-dimensions of alignment. On the basis of a sample of civilservants (n=200), we used exploratory factor analysis to identify a six-dimensional solutioncovering alignment and adaptability. Using another sample of civil servants (n=200), weused confirmatory factor analysis to test CASPO’s construct validity and regression analysisin testing the criterion validity. The results reveal that CASPO shows appropriate metricqualities and that it surpasses Gibson and Birkinshaw’s (2004) scale in predicting both theirmeasure of generic organizational performance and a measure of performance specific forpublic organizations. This study contributes to the creation of sound measures of relevantconcepts explaining the performance of public organizations.

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