Evaluation the Model of Reduction in Organizational Inertia in the Department of Education

Subject Areas :

Hamideh Malek ¹ , Reza Zarei ^{2 *} , Ahmad Reza Ojinejad ³ , Mojgan Amirianzadeh ⁴

1 -
2 - Department of Educational Sciences, Marv. C. Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran
3 - Department of Educational Sciences, Marv. C. Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran
4 - Department of Educational Sciences, Marv. C. Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran

Received: 2025-07-22 Accepted : 2025-10-11 Published : 2025-09-28

Keywords: Organizational inertia, organizational transformation, confirmatory factor analysis, education, conceptual model,

Abstract :

In today’s dynamic educational landscape, organizations are required to continuously adapt to social and technological transformations. However, organizational inertia often acts as a major barrier that slows innovation and reform. The present mixed-method research aimed to design and empirically validate a model for reducing organizational inertia in the Department of Education of Shiraz. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with educational management experts were analyzed thematically to extract the key dimensions of inertia reduction. In the quantitative phase, the proposed model was examined using a descriptive–survey design. The statistical population included all female teachers working in the four educational districts of Shiraz during 2025, from whom 240 participants were selected through multi-stage cluster random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire developed based on qualitative findings. The validity of the instrument was confirmed through expert review, and its reliability was verified using Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in Smart PLS 3 software. The results identified four main dimensions—enhancement of organizational infrastructure, improvement of organizational processes, development of teachers’ individual capabilities, and strengthening of administrators’ competencies—as the most significant contributors to reducing organizational inertia. Among these, the dimensions of infrastructure enhancement and process improvement had the strongest impact. The findings highlight the importance of adopting flexible structures, transformational leadership, and learning-oriented organizational cultures to enhance adaptability and innovation in educational organizations.

 

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