Mapping Organization Development Mastery: The Design and Validation of an Organization Development Competency Framework and Assessment

Abstract

The field of Organization Development (OD) has long lacked a theoretically unified and empirically validated competency model, which has hindered its professional visibility, credibility, and standardization. To address this gap, the study validates the Mastering Organizational & Societal Transformation (MOST) competency framework and its corresponding assessment through a multiphase, multisample, and mixed-methods approach. Grounded in sociotechnical systems theory, the study begins with a comparative analysis of existing OD competency models to inform framework alignment and item creation. Content validity is then established through surveys and interviews with eight subject matter experts (Sample 1), followed by pilot testing with 28 practitioners (Sample 2) and final validation with 1,104 participants (Sample 3). The study findings demonstrate empirical support for the MOST framework and assessment through reliability testing, exploratory factor analysis, and first-order and second-order confirmatory factor analyses. These findings support the MOST as a theoretically grounded and empirically validated tool for advancing OD as a credible, competency-based profession.