Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jun 4, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Jun 4, 2025 - Jul 30, 2025
Date Accepted: Jan 19, 2026
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Systematic Multidimensional Organizational Assessment Questionnaire: Protocol for the Development and Validation of a Systemic-Psychodynamic Organizational Diagnostic Questionnaire
ABSTRACT
Background:
Systems psychodynamics provide valuable insights into organizational development. To date, instruments that can reliably assess organizations based on systems psychodynamic theories are lacking, though. The Systematic Multidimensional Organisational Assessment (SyMOA) is a qualitative instrument that provides an in-depth, systems psychodynamic analysis of organizational dynamics by using a semi-structured interview guide. To complement the method, a standardized, quantitative self-assessment questionnaire will be developed and validated.
Objective:
The aim of this study is to develop and psychometrically validate an instrument for assessing organizational health based on the SyMOA diagnostic system. The questionnaire is intended to provide a scientifically grounded yet practical diagnostic tool applicable in both research and corporate practice. The findings aim to contribute to the advancement of systems psychodynamic theory and serve as a foundation for evidence-based interventions in organizational change processes.
Methods:
The study follows a multi-stage development and validation process. First, the SyMOA construct will be transformed into a questionnaire battery and the items will be evaluated by experts (expert validity). The items will be tested through factor and item analyses in an online panel (n=150) and iteratively refined. Subsequently, factorial validity, discriminant validity, and test-retest reliability will be examined before standardizing the instrument with a larger sample (n=800).
Results:
As of April 2025, a first draft of 158 items was developed based on Dimension I of the SyMOA framework. The draft underwent an expert review process with two experts in psychodynamics, who provided feedback on content validity and conceptual alignment. Approximately 20% of the items were revised to improve clarity and theoretical precision. Data collection using a panel is scheduled for the coming months, with iterative item analysis to be conducted thereafter. Results are expected to be published in late 2025.
Conclusions:
Parallel field application of the SyMOA framework in organizational settings complements the quantitative development by offering insights into its real-world relevance and usability. This integration underscores the instrument’s translational value, while also illustrating the practical challenges of applying systems psychodynamic diagnostics in organizational contexts. Clinical Trial: Freiburger Register Klinischer Studien FRKS005727
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.