Structural Characteristics

Infrastructure components support functional performance of the Inner Setting. Note: Use this construct to capture themes related to Structural Characteristics that are not included in the subconstructs below.

The original CFIR provided a broad description of the role of Structural Characteristics. Much support for the role of structural characteristics comes from Damanpour’s seminal research into organizational innovation (Damanpour, 1991). Several dimensions of structural characteristics have been found to have significant associations with implementation, though many of these characteristics have had mixed effects, most likely because they interact with other features of the Inner Setting (Frambach & Schillewaert, 2001).

Qualitative coding guidelines that are aligned with the Updated CFIR will be added in the future.

Regarding quantitative measurement of this construct: In a systematic review of quantitative measures related to implementation, Dorsey et al. identified 13 measures (Dorsey et al., 2021). Using PAPERS criteria of measurement quality with an aggregate scale ranging from -9 to +36 (Lewis, Mettert, Stanick, et al., 2021), four (30.77%) of the measures could not be scored and scores for the remaining measures ranged from -2 to +6. Themes within the measures included objective descriptors of the Inner Setting (e.g., age, size), physical infrastructure, and work infrastructure. Results indicate the need for continued development of high-quality measures.

As we become aware of additional measures, we will post them here. Please contact us with updates.

Damanpour, F. (1991). Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis of Effects of Determinants and Moderators. The Academy of Management Journal, 34(3), 555–590.

Dorsey, C. N., Mettert, K. D., Puspitasari, A. J., Damschroder, L. J., & Lewis, C. C. (2021). A systematic review of measures of implementation players and processes: Summarizing the dearth of psychometric evidence. Implementation Research and Practice, 2, 263348952110024.

Frambach, R. T., & Schillewaert, N. (2001). Organizational innovation adoption: A multi-level framework of determinants and opportunities for future research. Journal of Business Research, 55(2), 163–176.

Lewis, C. C., Mettert, K. D., Stanick, C. F., Halko, H. M., Nolen, E. A., Powell, B. J., & Weiner, B. J. (2021). The psychometric and pragmatic evidence rating scale (PAPERS) for measure development and evaluation. Implementation Research and Practice, 2, 263348952110373. https://doi.org/10.1177/26334895211037391.