The DOI matches its Crossref record; 93 of the 95 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The meaning and measurement of implementation climate
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Climate has a long history in organizational studies, but few theoretical models integrate the complex effects of climate during innovation implementation. In 1996, a theoretical model was proposed that organizations could develop a positive climate for implementation by making use of various policies and practices that promote organizational members' means, motives, and opportunities for innovation use. The model proposes that implementation climate--or the extent to which organizational members perceive that innovation use is expected, supported, and rewarded--is positively associated with implementation effectiveness. The implementation climate construct holds significant promise for advancing scientific knowledge about the organizational determinants of innovation implementation. However, the construct has not received sufficient scholarly attention, despite numerous citations in the scientific literature. In this article, we clarify the meaning of implementation climate, discuss several measurement issues, and propose guidelines for empirical study. DISCUSSION: Implementation climate differs from constructs such as organizational climate, culture, or context in two important respects: first, it has a strategic focus (implementation), and second, it is innovation-specific. Measuring implementation climate is challenging because the construct operates at the organizational level, but requires the collection of multi-dimensional perceptual data from many expected innovation users within an organization. In order to avoid problems with construct validity, assessments of within-group agreement of implementation climate measures must be carefully considered. Implementation climate implies a high degree of within-group agreement in climate perceptions. However, researchers might find it useful to distinguish implementation climate level (the average of implementation climate perceptions) from implementation climate strength (the variability of implementation climate perceptions). It is important to recognize that the implementation climate construct applies most readily to innovations that require collective, coordinated behavior change by many organizational members both for successful implementation and for realization of anticipated benefits. For innovations that do not possess these attributes, individual-level theories of behavior change could be more useful in explaining implementation effectiveness. SUMMARY: This construct has considerable value in implementation science, however, further debate and development is necessary to refine and distinguish the construct for empirical use.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Figures

Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Indeed, there is a recognition that equifinality [82] is common in complex systems governing implementation.”
From “Scaling-out” evidence-based interventions to new populations or new health care delivery systems (2017) · cites this paper as [82]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Damschroder, L. J., Aron, D. C., Keith, R. E., Kirsh, S. R., Alexander, J. A., & Lowery, J. C. (2009) · Implementation Science · doi:10.1186/1748-5908-4-50 · Cited by 14,496
Research in Organizational Behavior
Hammer, E. R., Cummings, L. L., & Staw, B. M. (1984) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.2307/258300 · Cited by 11,176
ASSESSING THE WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR CREATIVITY.
AMABILE, T. M., CONTI, R., COON, H., LAZENBY, J., & HERRON, M. (1996) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.2307/256995 · Cited by 6,029
Estimating within-group interrater reliability with and without response bias
James, L. R., Demaree, R. G., & Wolf, G. (1984) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.69.1.85 · Cited by 4,774
Toward a cognitive social learning reconceptualization of personality
Mischel, W. (1973) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0035002 · Cited by 3,181
Chan, D. K. (1998) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.83.2.234 · Cited by 2,981
Safety climate in industrial organizations: Theoretical and applied implications.
Zohar, D. M. (1980) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.65.1.96 · Cited by 2,687
Aggregation bias in estimates of perceptual agreement.
James, L. R. (1982) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.67.2.219 · Cited by 2,139
The Challenge of Innovation Implementation
Klein, K. J., & Sorra, J. S. (1996) · The Academy of Management Review · doi:10.2307/259164 · Cited by 2,113
Organizational Climate and Culture
Ehrhart, M. G. (2016) · The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology · doi:10.4135/9781483346274.n219 · Cited by 2,055
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Zohar D: Safety climate in industrial organizations -- theoretical and applied implications. Journal of Applied Psychology. 1980, 65: 96-102. · DOI
- Dansereau F, Cho J, Yammarino FJ: Avoiding the "Fallacy of the wrong level" - A within and between analysis (WABA) approach. Group & Organization Management. 2006, 31: 536-577. 10.1177/1059601106291131. · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–261 of 261
Varpula, J., Askola, R., Kahsay, D. T., Axelin, A., Virtanen, L., Maijala, R. K., & Peltonen, L. M. (2026) · Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing · doi:10.1111/wvn.70164 · Cited by 1
Carabajo, M. A. G., Sandoya, A. M. V., & Morales, A. M. C. (2021) · RECIMUNDO · doi:10.26820/recimundo/5.(4).oct.2021.112-120 · Cited by 1
Schriger, S. H., & Beidas, R. S. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780198867791.003.0020 · Cited by 1
Cassar, S., Salmon, J., Timperio, A. F., Shea, C. M., Ma, J., & Koorts, H. (2025) · Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1249/tjx.0000000000000316 · Cited by 1
Franz, B. A., Ford, J. H., Cheng, H. L., Garneau, H. C., Mount, K. A., & McGovern, M. P. (2025) · Journal of Addiction Medicine · doi:10.1097/adm.0000000000001556 · Cited by 1
He, H., Li, J., Li, J., Lu, H., Lu, J. L., Cao, L., Gong, L., Pang, R., & Zhu, X. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0334855 · Cited by 1
Enduring contributions to implementation science: Honoring the legacy of Bryan R. Garner
Becker, S. J., Ford, J. H., Glass, J. E., Gotham, H. J., Knudsen, H. K., Quanbeck, A., Roosa, M., & Williams, E. C. (2025) · Frontiers in Health Services · doi:10.3389/frhs.2025.1698749 · Cited by 1
Ha, B. T. T., Van, T. P., & Mirzoev, T. N. (2020) · Risk Management and Healthcare Policy · doi:10.2147/rmhp.s250748 · Cited by 1
Implementation of the Wolverine Mental Health Program, Part 3: Sustainment Phase
Lewis, C. C., Scott, K., Rodríguez‐Quintana, N., Hoffacker, C. P., Boys, C., & Hindman, R. K. (2021) · Cognitive and Behavioral Practice · doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2021.06.010 · Cited by 1
Church Leaders' Financial Coping Strategies During a Recession
Williams, C. (2011) · ScholarWorks (Walden University)
COMPETITIVE FOOD POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN KENTUCKY SCHOOLS
Gisler, P. (2016) · UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) · doi:10.13023/etd.2016.121
Sykes, P. (2015) · UTAS Research Repository · doi:10.25959/23238803
The role of governance mechanisms on the diffusion of innovation in healthcare networks
Okeke, U. (2017) · UWE Research Repository (UWE Bristol)
Laur, C. V. (2019) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
Working Face-to-Face for Pediatric CT Dose Reduction: A Community Toolkit.
Armao, D. M., Hartman, T., Cm, S., Sams, C. M., Fordham, L. A., & Jk, S. (2016) · PubMed
Torres-Cortés, B., Leiva, L., Antivilo-Bruna, A., & Zavala‐Villalón, G. (2021) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2021.599712
Young, A. (2012) · Faculty of Health
Hoy, S., Helgadóttir, B., & Norman, Å. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph191912726
Women in Health Services: Implementation Science 2021
Moullin, J. C., Aufegger, L., & Finch, T. L. (2023) · Frontiers research topics · doi:10.3389/978-2-8325-2337-7
Hearld, L. R., Carroll, N. W., Hall, A. G., Karabukayeva, A., & Singh, J. A. (2023) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3767479/v1
Implementation Science and quality improvement
(2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med/9780192866387.003.0004
Hearld, L. R., Hubbard, D. M., Smith, K., Parker, S., Jackson, E. A., & Cherrington, A. (2025) · Journal of Primary Care & Community Health · doi:10.1177/21501319251356551
Validation of the Implementation Climate Scale (ICS) in a Community-Based Learning Collaborative
Lane, E., Woodard, G. S., Jensen‐Doss, A., & Novello, A. (2025) · Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research · doi:10.1007/s10488-025-01483-6
Sun, L., Booth, A., & Sworn, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26322675
Sun, L., Booth, A., & Sworn, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26322760
Hogan, T. H., O’Rourke, B. P., Weeks, E., Silvera, G. A., & Choi, S. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24522861
Meza, R. D., Triplett, N. S., Woodard, G. S., Martin, P., Khairuzzaman, A. N., Jamora, G., & Dorsey, S. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14920971
Peters, N., Borge, R. H., Skar, A. M. S., & Egeland, K. M. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.17870361
Sansbury, G. M., Pence, B. W., Zimba, C. C., Yanguela, J., Landrum, K. R., Matewere, M., Mbota, M., Malava, J., Tikhiwa, H. A., Morrison, A. M., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24819461
Hohmeier, K. C., McKeirnan, K. C., Akers, J. M., Klepser, M. E., Klepser, S. A., Chen, C., & Klepser, D. G. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.20330080
Zhang, Y., Larson, M. F., Ehrhart, M. G., King, K., Locke, J. J., Cook, C. R., & Lyon, A. R. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26726057
Lin, Y.-J., Ranusch, A., Seagull, F. J., Sussman, J. B., & Barnes, G. D. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.23606806
Hogan, T. H., O’Rourke, B. P., Weeks, E., Silvera, G. A., & Choi, S. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26636862
Frank, H. E., Guzman, L. E., Ayalasomayajula, S., Albanese, A. M., Dunklee, B., Harvey, M., Bouchard, K. L., Vadiveloo, M. K., Yaroch, A. L., Scott, K., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26696966
Meza, R. D., Triplett, N. S., Woodard, G. S., Martin, P., Khairuzzaman, A. N., Jamora, G., & Dorsey, S. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14920965
Zhang, Y., Larson, M. F., Ehrhart, M. G., King, K., Locke, J. J., Cook, C. R., & Lyon, A. R. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26726060
Sun, L., Booth, A., & Sworn, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26750279
Sun, L., Booth, A., & Sworn, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26750282
Williams, N. J., Ehrhart, M. G., Aarons, G. A., Esp, S. M., Sklar, M., Carandang, K. M., Vega, N. R., Brookman-Frazee, L. I., & Marcus, S. C. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.25506625
Hogan, T. H., O’Rourke, B. P., Weeks, E., Silvera, G. A., & Choi, S. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24522615
Shelley, D. R., Brown, D., Cleland, C. M., Pham-Singer, H., Zein, D., Chang, J. E., & Wu, W. Y. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26593082
Zhang, X., Mengting, P., He, M., Du, M., Jiang, M., Cui, M., Cai, Y., Yan, Q., & Wang, Y. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26670876
Worum, H., Lillekroken, D., Ahlsen, B., Roaldsen, K. S., & Bergland, A. (2020) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.13151719
Sun, L., Booth, A., & Sworn, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26750285
Meza, R. D., Triplett, N. S., Woodard, G. S., Martin, P., Khairuzzaman, A. N., Jamora, G., & Dorsey, S. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14920968
Sun, L., Booth, A., & Sworn, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26750291
Zhang, Y., Larson, M. F., Ehrhart, M. G., King, K., Locke, J. J., Cook, C. R., & Lyon, A. R. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26726054
Iwelunmor, J., Ezechi, O., Obiezu‐Umeh, C., Oladele, D. A., Nwaozuru, U., Aifah, A. A., Gyamfi, J., Gbajabiamila, T., Musa, A. Z., Onakomaiya, D. O., et al. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.19607584
Zhang, Y., Larson, M. F., Ehrhart, M. G., King, K., Locke, J. J., Cook, C. R., & Lyon, A. R. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26726063
Sun, L., Booth, A., & Sworn, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26750288
Peters, N., Borge, R. H., Skar, A. M. S., & Egeland, K. M. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.17870358
A Framework and Method for Measuring the Implementation of Data Science in Critical Care
Woznica, D. M., Al-Hakim, T., Kumar, V. K., Cobb, J. P., Kamaleswaran, R., Khanna, A. K., Laudański, K., Zimmerman, J. J., & Reuter‐Rice, K. (2026) · Critical Care Explorations · doi:10.1097/cce.0000000000001372
Vatne, K. B., Peters, N., & Egeland, K. M. (2026) · Tidsskrift for Norsk psykologforening · doi:10.52734/mbpo1639
Validation of the Implementation Climate Scale for Early Intervention (ICS-EI)
Lee, J. D., Joo, S., Terol, A. K., Jung, S., Pickard, K. E., Stone, W., & Locke, J. J. (2026) · Journal of Early Intervention · doi:10.1177/10538151261432562 · Cited by 1
Implementering av retningslinjer i skolehelsetjenesten: ledelse og klima
Sagatun, Å., Wentzel‐Larsen, T., & Engell, T. (2026) · Sykepleien Forskning · doi:10.4220/sykepleienf.2026.106822
Sorensen, N. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1889369
Human-Centered Design Under Strain: Organizational Filtration in Industry 4.0 TransformationPreprint
Gomide, P., Gancho, S., & Patrício, R. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7292388
Kiggundu, J. B., Semitala, F. C., Mwaka, S., Muddu, M., Kayima, J., Mutungi, G. N., Spiegelman, D. L., Schwartz, J. I., Abdo, M., Ssinabulya, I., et al. (2026) · Journal of Healthcare Leadership · doi:10.2147/jhl.s626127
Loya, M. R. M., Mello, M., Vejnoska, S., Lewis, C. A., Iosif, A., Rocha, M., Brown, H. M., Walker, A. Z., Dufek, S., & Stahmer, A. C. (2026) · Behavior Analysis in Practice · doi:10.1007/s40617-026-01216-7
Kang, S., Choudhuri, P. G., Sridhar, A., Landa, Y., Kim, E. S., & Locke, J. J. (2026) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613261491797
Metadata
- Authors
- Weiner, B. J., Belden, C. M., Bergmire, D. M., & Johnston, M.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Weiner, Bryan J
- Venue
- Implementation Science
- Published
- 2011-07-22
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 78-78
- ISSN
- 1748-5908 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3224582
- OpenAlex
- W2153210627
- Cited by
- 260
- References
- 95
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 16.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Implementation Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
- Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- UNC Libraries
- Funders
- National Cancer Institute (R01CA124402)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Change and Leadership
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
- Keywords
- implementation climate, innovation implementation, implementation effectiveness, construct validity, measurement, climate strength, organizational climate, organizational culture
- MeSH terms
- Cooperative Behavior, Diffusion of Innovation, Health Plan Implementation, Humans, Medical Oncology, Models, Theoretical, Organizational Innovation, Organizational Culture, Biomedical Research
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review