The Logic of Appropriateness in OD: Perceived Publicness as an Institutional Change Mechanism

Abstract

Organization development (OD) seeks sustainable change, yet its theoretical toolkit remains underspecified regarding the normative mechanisms through which organizational context shapes change-supportive behavior. This article introduces Publicness-Activated Change Theory (PACT), positioning perceived organizational publicness—the extent to which employees experience their organization as attentive to the public interest—as a potential cross-sector institutional change mechanism. Drawing on institutional theory, the logic of appropriateness, and internalization theory, PACT conceptualizes perceived publicness as normative change infrastructure through which public values may shape judgments about appropriate behavior. The framework makes three contributions: it theorizes perceived publicness as an informal institutional context for change; introduces publicness-values misfit as a diagnostic explanation for resistance; and presents a three-stage Diagnose–Align–Leverage model grounded in the Publicness Perceptions Scale. Together, these contributions provide a testable framework for examining when publicness can be leveraged, when alignment is required, and how its effects compare with established OD mechanisms.