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A systematic literature review of exploratory factor analyses in management

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  • Howard, Matt C.

Abstract

We review the application and reporting of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in management. First, we integrate recommendations from relevant reviews and simulation studies to provide modern guidelines regarding EFA for psychometric investigation, and we highlight severe concerns associated with EFA for Harman’s one-factor test. Second, we conduct a systematic literature review including 1,790 articles and 3,396 EFAs from 23 premier journals since the year 2000. Our review reveals that many widespread guidelines for EFA are infrequently applied. We also show that researchers regularly fail to report essential aspects of their EFAs, leaving it unknown whether they are correctly conducting their analyses. Third, our discussion reinforces modern recommendations that are infrequently applied, exposes researchers to emerging developments, and provides new factor loading interpretations based on our systematic review results. To conclude, we provide step-by-step visual guides and a checklist to aid future researchers on their application and reporting of EFA.

Suggested Citation

  • Howard, Matt C., 2023. "A systematic literature review of exploratory factor analyses in management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:164:y:2023:i:c:s0148296323003272
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113969
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Beini & Dust, Scott B & Xu, Minya & Zhang, Xinyu, 2026. "Sharing for the right reasons? Influence of leader mindfulness on follower tacit and explicit knowledge sharing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
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    3. Twinkle Gulati & Siddharatha Shankar, 2025. "Measuring an “extended view” of corporate citizenship: manifestations drawn from scale development, refinement and validation," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 3869-3897, August.
    4. Pinheiro, Carlos David Pedrosa & Gonzalez Feliu, Jesus & Bertoncini, Bruno Vieira, 2025. "A novel comprehensive spatial accessibility indicator to capture the latent nature of accessibility in logistic warehouses," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
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    7. Shefali Srivastava & Vipulesh Shardeo & Ashish Dwivedi & Sanjoy Kumar Paul, 2026. "Analyzing enablers of artificial intelligence for decarbonization: implications for circular supply chains," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 359(1), pages 953-980, April.
    8. Alexander Chupin & Alexey Sorokin & Alena Veselko & Dmitry Morkovkin & Victor Ya. Pishchik & Petr V. Alekseev, 2024. "Sustainable Financing for Transport Infrastructure: An Integral Approach for the Russian Federation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-13, April.
    9. Chao Xu & Sung-Eui Cho, 2025. "Factors Affecting Human–AI Collaboration Performances in Financial Sector: Sustainable Service Development Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-28, May.
    10. repec:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:10:p:208-219 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Faroque, Anisur R. & Rahman, Arafat & Gani, Mohammad Osman & Hoque, Imranul, 2026. "Heuristics and decision rationality in entry mode choice: Implications for decision effectiveness and international performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(1).
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