Self-perceived organizational performance of autism education institutions in Saudi Arabia using the McKinsey 7-S...

Autism-related educational and special-education services require organizational conditions that support consistent practice and coordinated delivery. This study assessed perceived organizational performance in autism education institutions in Saudi Arabia using the McKinsey 7S framework (Strategy, Structure, Systems, Style, Staff, Skills, and Shared Values).

A cross-sectional online survey was administered to institutional staff (N = 250) using a 35-item instrument (five items per 7S dimension) rated on a five-point Likert scale. Analyses included descriptive profiling of 7S perceptions, group comparisons by organization type, region, and administrative role, and regression models examining associations between 7S dimensions and composite perceived organizational performance/alignment indices.

Group comparisons indicated no statistically significant differences in 7S perceptions across organization type, region, or administrative versus non-administrative role. In regression analysis, Shared Values showed a positive association with the overall perceived organizational performance index (β = 0.25, R² = 0.06, p < .001). In non-overlapping models predicting an adjusted overall 7S index (excluding the focal predictor), Strategy (β = 0.13, p = .05), Systems (β = 0.15, p = .02), Staff (β = 0.16, p = .01), and Skills (β = 0.23, p < .001) were positively associated, while Structure and Style were not statistically significant.

Overall, the findings suggest that cultural coherence and capability-related elements provide the strongest signals of Perceived organizational performance within the 7S configuration for autism education institutions.