Organizational culture and practice epistemologies

Hemmelgarn, Glisson, and James (2006) provide an excellent review of the impact of organizational culture and climate for the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) models within social and mental health services systems. As their article makes clear, the implementation process should address the organizational context, and effectiveness and services research should consider organizational factors in outcome and EBP transport research. This commentary extends discussion of one aspect of organizational culture - the extent to which organizations are driven by an empirical scientific epistemology - and how this may contribute to establishing a context for EBP design, selection, implementation, and sustained evolution in field settings.