Emotional Agency at Work : The Development and Validation of a Measure
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Emo ional Agency a Wo k : The De elopmen and Valida ion o a Measu e
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Hökkä, Päi i K is iina; Räikkönen, Eija; Ikä alko, Heini; Paloniemi, Susanna;
Vähäsan anen, Ka ja
Hökkä, P. K., Räikkönen, E., Ikä alko, H., Paloniemi, S., & Vähäsan anen, K. (2022). Emo ional
Agency a Wo k : The De elopmen and Valida ion o a Measu e. F on ie s in Educa ion, 7,
A icle 852598. h ps://doi.o g/10.3389/ educ.2022.852598
2022
educ-07-852598 June 29, 2022 Time: 14:41 # 1
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
published: 05 July 2022
doi: 10.3389/ educ.2022.852598
Edi ed by:
Ma heus Pe azzo,
Fede al Uni e si y o Minas Ge ais,
B azil
Re iewed by:
Raul Rami ez-Vielma,
Uni e si y o Concepcion, Chile
Hassan Khaja y,
Uni e si y o Bojno d, I an
*Co espondence:
Päi i K is iina Hökkä
[email p o ec ed]
Special y sec ion:
This a icle was submi ed o
Assessmen , Tes ing and Applied
Measu emen ,
a sec ion o he jou nal
F on ie s in Educa ion
Recei ed: 11 Janua y 2022
Accep ed: 09 June 2022
Published: 05 July 2022
Ci a ion:
Hökkä P, Räikkönen E, Ikä alko H,
Paloniemi S and Vähäsan anen K
(2022) Emo ional Agency a Wo k:
The De elopmen and Valida ion o a
Measu e. F on . Educ. 7:852598.
doi: 10.3389/ educ.2022.852598
Emo ional Agency a Wo k: The
De elopmen and Valida ion o a
Measu e
Päi i K is iina Hökkä1,2*, Eija Räikkönen3, Heini Ikä alko4, Susanna Paloniemi1and
Ka ja Vähäsan anen5
1Depa men o Educa ion, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Jy äskylä, Finland, 2Facul y o Educa ion and Cul u e, Tampe e
Uni e si y, Tampe e, Finland, 3Facul y o Educa ion and Psychology, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Jy äskylä, Finland, 4Aal o
Uni e si y School o Business, Cen e o Knowledge and Inno a ion Resea ch, Aal o Uni e si y, Espoo, Finland, 5Finnish
Ins i u e o Educa ional Resea ch, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Jy äskylä, Finland
Despi e in ensi e esea ch on agency in educa ion and wo k en i onmen s, he opic
emains unde explo ed h ough he lens o emo ions. This s udy conduc ed he
de elopmen and alida ion o a quan i a i e measu e o explo e emo ional agency in
wo king li e. Empi ical da a (N= 240) we e collec ed ia a web-based su ey wi hin
he p o essional domains o heal hca e and eal es a e se ices. The pa icipan s’
age, educa ional le el, and gende co esponded o he domain-speci ic and gene al
employee dis ibu ion in Finland. The ques ionnai e i ems we e based on a heo e ical
cons uc o emo ional agency a wo k. Explo a o y ac o analysis indica ed ha
emo ional agency includes wo dimensions: Emo ional Compe ence a Wo k and
In luencing Emo ions a Wo k. Explo a o y s uc u al equa ion modeling showed hese
dimensions o be equi alen ac oss he s udied p o essional domains. Fu he mo e, he
con e gen and disc iminan alidi y o he measu e was con i med in ela ion o he
emo ional clima e a wo k and wo k engagemen . The s udy en iches he cu en heo y
o agency and emo ions a wo k by explo ing hei connec ion. I also p oposes a no el
measu e o emo ional agency a wo k ( he E-Ag measu e), o e ed as a use ul ool o
esea ching and de eloping wo king li e and o ganiza ional beha io .
Keywo ds: agency, emo ion, emo ional agency, wo k engagemen , emo ional clima e, measu e
INTRODUCTION
The concep o agency has been a opic o in e es o decades, especially in he ields o social
science, psychology, philosophy, and gende s udies. In gene al, agency e e s o ac i e human
pa icipa ion ha has he powe o make a di e ence, and o in luence cu en ci cums ances
(e.g., Giddens, 1984;Bandu a, 1989). This means ha indi iduals a e seen as ha ing he capaci y
o de e mine hei own li es and des iny, and no as subjuga ed o su ounding s uc u es o
o ces. In wo king li e and o ganiza ion s udies, he concep o agency has eme ged as a cons uc
o unde s anding how indi iduals and o ganiza ions can su i e o e en lou ish amid apid
socie al and o ganiza ional changes (E eläpel o e al., 2013;Hage and Becke , 2019). As a esul
o ongoing global and socie al ans o ma ions, indi iduals a e expec ed o adop new o ien a ions
owa d hei wo k and o enla ge hei p o essional oles, all wi h a willingness o be lexible and
eady o con inuous de elopmen and lea ning (e.g., Hökkä e al., 2019). This unde lines he
meaning o agency as a c ucial aspec o con inuous lea ning in wo kplace con ex s (Tynjälä, 2013;
Vähäsan anen e al., 2017;Wallin e al., 2022). A he same ime, e o s in his di ec ion o en ha e
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Hökkä e al. Emo ional Agency a Wo k Measu e
o be implemen ed amid igh ening accoun abili y, es uc u ing,
and global compe i ion (e.g., Luo, 2005), and—in ecen yea s—
global c ises (Li e al., 2020).
E e yday ac i i ies and in e ac ions a wo k a e c ucial a
many lea ning si es h oughou indi iduals’ wo king li es (Bille
and Noble, 2017;Smi h, 2017). In hese in e ac ions, agency is
in e wined wi h lea ning a wo k in a wide ange o ways. I
encompasses in luencing, de eloping, and ans o ming exis ing
cul u es and p ac ices a wo k (Bille , 2011;E eläpel o, 2017).
Empi ical s udies ha e highligh ed he impo ance o agency
in lea ning a wo k wi h ega d o c ea i e hinking and
inno a ions (Collin e al., 2017;Messmann and Mulde , 2017),
de eloping occupa ional knowledge and skills (Smi h, 2017),
in ap eneu ship (Pa ke , 2011;Wie he-Kö p ich e al., 2017),
and p oac i e ca ee planning (Fo ie e al., 2009;Vähäsan anen
and E eläpel o, 2015).
Despi e conside able esea ch on agency a wo k, he opic has
emained unde explo ed in e ms o i s emo ional componen s.
Agency a wo k has mainly been concep ualized as a ional
and goal-o ien ed ac ions aimed a making a di e ence o a
s a e o a ai s, wi h li le a en ion gi en o how emo ions
en e in o agen ic ac ions (Hökkä e al., 2019). This, hen, is
why we a gue he need o a deepe unde s anding o he
ela ionship be ween emo ions and agency, encompassing in
pa icula emo ional agency a wo k. So a , only a ew pape s
(K one and Doughe y, 2015;Weenink and Spaa ga en, 2016;
Hökkä e al., 2019) ha e deal wi h he cons uc o emo ional
agency pe se, and no s udy has in es iga ed such a cons uc
ia quan i a i e measu emen s. O e all, ou aim is o en ich he
cu en heo y o agency a wo k by elabo a ing he concep o
emo ional agency, and o de elop and alida e a quan i a i e
measu e o i . In his pape we also discuss he implica ions
o emo ional agency a wo k, and how he ins umen (E-
Ag measu e) migh be used in esea ching wo king li e and
in b inging abou o ganiza ional change. We an icipa e ha
he new ins umen may p o ide new ways o o ganiza ions
o in en ionally ocus and imp o e emo ional componen s o
o ganiza ional p ac ices and de elopmen .
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The Concep ualiza ion o Emo ional
Agency
So a , only a ew s udies ha e elabo a ed he ela ionship be ween
emo ions and agency in wo king li e (e.g., Hughes, 2005;Ag awal
e al., 2013;Hökkä e al., 2017;U sin e al., 2020). These
ha e shown ha emo ions can bo h enable and cons ain he
enac men o agency. Fo example, he e is e idence ha he
emo ion o ea exe s a s ong powe in pushing leade s owa d
agen ic ac ions, whe eas i seems o pa alyze employees and
p e en hem om aking agen ic ac ions e en i u gen ly needed
o ans o m wo k p ac ices (Hökkä e al., 2017). Howe e , he
s udies in ques ion ha e elabo a ed he ela ion be ween emo ion
and agency one-sidedly and ha e no add essed how emo ions a e
deal wi h and in luenced by agency. In addi ion, in elabo a ing
he ela ionship be ween emo ions and agency, he e ha e been
some en a i e a emp s o apply and desc ibe he concep o
emo ional agency (e.g., K one and Doughe y, 2015;Weenink
and Spaa ga en, 2016;Hökkä e al., 2017). Howe e , hese ha e
ailed o gi e a comp ehensi e and elabo a i e desc ip ion o he
concep due o applying an o e ly na ow ocus o ende ing
a ague heo e ical de ini ion. Thus, a mo e comp ehensi e
concep ualiza ion o emo ional agency a wo k is needed, which
could be buil on p e ious concep ualiza ions o bo h agency and
emo ions. Nex , we will sha e ou unde s anding o emo ional
agency by i s ocusing on desc ibing ou app oach o agency a
wo k and hen on emo ions a wo k.
Agency a Wo k
In gene al, agency a wo k has been ca ego ized on he basis
o wo di e en app oaches. In he i s place, agency has been
desc ibed as a beha io al phenomenon, ha is, as some hing
ha indi iduals do wi h ans o ma i e o c ea i e pu poses in
mind, ei he on hei own o wi h o he people (E eläpel o e al.,
2013;Damsa e al., 2017). Agency a wo k would hus e e o
he ways in which p o essionals exe in luence, ake ini ia i es,
make choices, and engage in nego ia ions ega ding (i) hei
wo k (i.e., hei indi idual and collec i e ways o wo king), and
(ii) hei p o essional iden i y (i.e., hei p o essional in e es s,
goals, and alues). Viewed in his ligh , agency is mani es ed
ia enego ia ing one’s p o essional iden i y (Vähäsan anen
e al., 2017), in luencing and de eloping wo k p ac ices and
en i onmen s (Ke osuo, 2017), o ans o ming o ganiza ional
and ins i u ional s uc u es (Tuominen and Leh onen, 2018).
The ecen s udies by Vähäsan anen e al. (2017, 2022)
ha e elabo a ed he concep o agency a wo k by adop ing a
subjec -cen e ed sociocul u al app oach (E eläpel o e al., 2013,
2014) ha emphasizes agency as an ac ion-based phenomenon
ha is enac ed wi hin sociocul u al condi ions by indi iduals
based on hei unique li e na a i es. They ha e u he
p esen ed a mul idimensional s uc u e o agency a wo k ha
consis s o h ee di e en dimensions: In luencing a wo k,
De eloping wo k p ac ices, and Nego ia ing p o essional iden i y.
This s uc u e o agency a wo k emphasizes agency in he
o m o in en ional ac ions a wo k aiming o imp o e wo k
pe o mance and p ac ices.
Cu en li e a u e also sugges s ha agency can be unde s ood
as an indi idual capaci y, skill, o compe ence (Golle and
Paloniemi, 2017). In his case, agency is no ably concep ualized
as an indi idual cha ac e is ic encompassing he disposi ions and
compe ences ha enable indi iduals o make choices and ini ia e
ac ions in such a way as o exe cise con ol in hei p o essional
li es and wo k en i onmen s (Golle , 2017;Golle and Ha eis,
2017). In ac , in building on p e ious app oaches o agency as (i)
beha io o (ii) an indi idual cha ac e is ic, we ecognize hese
as complemen a y. We see emo ional agency as encompassing
bo h indi idual compe encies and ac ual beha io , such as when
a pe son in luences emo ions o consciously uses emo ions in
e e yday wo k p ac ices.
Emo ion a Wo k
In o ganiza ion and wo kplace s udies, he e is a long adi ion
o s udies on he ope a ions and concep ions o emo ion a
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Hökkä e al. Emo ional Agency a Wo k Measu e
wo k. In hese s udies, a psychological app oach has p e ailed
whe ein emo ions a e iewed mainly as indi idual and subjec i e
expe iences, emphasizing emo ion ei he as uni e sally sha ed,
disc e e s a es (e.g., Ekman, 2016) o as dimensions o alence
and a ousal (Ha mon-Jones e al., 2016). Howe e , du ing he
las ew decades, sociological and sociocul u al unde s andings o
emo ion ha e become inc easingly p ominen . These app oaches
end o emphasize emo ions as sociocul u ally and collec i ely
cons uc ed in e pe sonal en i ies ha a e dependen on lea ned
ules, and as socially p oduced ca ego ies and concep s
(Ba bale , 2001;Russell, 2003;Bole and Zembylas, 2016). Thus,
emo ions a e no seen p ima ily as phenomena exis ing in
he mind bu a he as en i ies ha shape social in e ac ion
and i s consequences (Ha eli e al., 2008). Despi e his, bo h
psychological and sociological app oaches ha e been challenged
on he g ounds ha hey o e oo na ow a pic u e o he
mul idimensional na u e o emo ion. The sociological app oach
has been c i icized o igno ing he impo ance o he indi idual
and o subjec i e eelings, and also o educing emo ion
o meanings (Lea i , 1996). Fo i s pa , he psychological
app oach has been seen as na owing he scope o emo ions
o he poin ha ha hey become in ape sonal eelings (o a
uni e sal na u e), sepa a ed om social and con ex ual p ac ices,
ci cums ances, and cul u es (e.g., Pa kinson, 1995;Schu z and
DeCui , 2002).
On he basis o he c i icisms abo e, schola s—no ably in
he ields o adul educa ion and o ganiza ional s udies—ha e
called o a mo e holis ic unde s anding o emo ion. This would
ake in o accoun bo h indi idual and social aspec s o emo ion,
and pay a en ion also o hei in e ac ions (e.g., Zembylas,
2007;Bu le and G oss, 2009;Rimé, 2009). Ou unde s anding
o emo ion is in acco d wi h hese pleas. We hus unde s and
emo ions as subjec i e expe iences, which a e a he same
ime embedded in sociocul u al con ex s ha can ac as ei he
igge s o inhibi o s o ce ain emo ions. This way o hinking
emphasizes also he p ocessual na u e o emo ions, si ua ed, as
hey a e, wi hin he dynamic e e yday ac ions ha ake place in
he wo kplace and elsewhe e.
F om his unde s anding o emo ions, plus ou unde s anding
o agency a wo k as encompassing bo h cha ac e is ics and
beha io , we see emo ional agency h ough an in eg a i e
lens. Emo ional agency is hus cha ac e ized as indi iduals’
compe ences and in en ional emo ion- ela ed ac ions ha ake
place wi hin eal-li e o ganiza ional cul u es and p ac ices and
which can be suppo ed o hinde ed by he sociocul u al
a o dances o hese. This de ini ion akes in o accoun he
ela ionship be ween agency and emo ion as ecip ocal; mo e
speci ically, i includes a heo e ical dis inc ion inso a as
i iews emo ional agency as he in en ional in luencing o
emo ions a wo k. This in ol es he compe ence o pe cei e,
unde s and and ake in o accoun bo h one’s own and o he
people’s emo ions, and in luencing emo ions in o ganiza ional
p ac ices, ac ions and in e ac ions. On he basis o his
concep ualiza ion, we assumed emo ional agency o encompass
wo po en ial dimensions, namely Emo ional Compe ence a
Wo k and In luencing Emo ions a Wo k. Nex , we will look a
hese dimensions in mo e de ail.
Po en ial Dimensions o Emo ional
Agency
Emo ional Compe ence a Wo k
In unde s anding and s udying emo ions in wo kplace con ex s,
he cons uc o emo ional in elligence has been e y popula in
ecen decades. Emo ional in elligence e e s o an indi idual’s
abili y o pe cei e, assimila e, unde s and and manage hei own
emo ions and hose o o he s (Maye e al., 1999;Van Rooy
and Viswes a an, 2004). Despi e i s popula i y, he e has been
a li ely and c i ical discussion abou he opic ega ding, o
example, whe he emo ional in elligence is an inna e ai o
some hing ha can be lea ned. The schola s ha emphasize
he idea ha emo ional skills can be lea ned and de eloped
p e e he concep o emo ional compe ence (e.g., Goleman, 1998;
Ko sou e al., 2011;Wang e al., 2016;Ge be h e al., 2021).
They p opose ha emo ional in elligence o e s a ounda ion,
bu o enable ongoing de elopmen and imp o emen a wo k
(e.g., imp o ed job pe o mance) emo ional compe ence mus be
de eloped (Vaida and Op e, 2014). Thus, emo ional compe ence
includes how a membe o an o ganiza ion ecognizes, exp esses,
and deals wi h emo ions a wo k (e.g., Kim e al., 2009;Ikä alko
e al., 2020) plus he idea o indi iduals’ po en ial o lea n o be e
deal wi h emo ions a wo k (Ko sou e al., 2011;B asseu e al.,
2013). The e is e idence ha pe sons wi h g ea e emo ional
compe ence a e likely o show imp o ed wo k pe o mance
h ough hei ac ions in he wo k se ing (Kim e al., 2009) and
ha adul s’ emo ional compe ence can be enhanced ia emo ion
aining (Ko sou e al., 2011). Cla ke (2006) has a gued ha
when he aim is o de elop emo ional compe ence a wo k,
one mus pay a en ion o he sociocul u al na u e o he wo k
se ing. In line wi h his, we conside i impo an o ega d
emo ional compe ence as a phenomenon embedded in e e yday
wo k p ac ices (Ikä alko e al., 2020).
In luencing Emo ions a Wo k
In concep ualizing emo ional agency, ano he key p inciple is
how one can in luence emo ions a wo k (Hökkä e al., 2017).
This includes in luencing bo h one’s own and o he people’s
emo ions. Fu he mo e, i includes a ec ing sha ed emo ions
as well as he emo ional clima e o he wo k o ganiza ion.
Unde s anding emo ional agency as in en ional in luencing
o emo ions hus unde lines i s na u e as an ac ion-based
phenomenon enac ed in ce ain sociocul u al ci cums ances (c .,
E eläpel o e al., 2014;Vähäsan anen e al., 2017, 2022). The
idea o in luencing emo ions a wo k can be seen as closely
ela ed o ano he emo ion-based cons uc a wo k, namely
emo ion egula ion. Emo ion egula ion e e s o ways in which
people con ol and manage hei emo ional esponses in ce ain
social ci cums ances. G oss (1998) de ines emo ion egula ion
as indi iduals in luencing which emo ions hey ha e, when
hey ha e hem, and how hey exp ess hese emo ions. This
pe spec i e encompasses how people can manage hei emo ional
esponses in o de o adjus o p e ailing ci cums ances in
con ex ually and socially accep able ways. The ci cums ances and
sociocul u al con ex s in ques ion ha e an e ec on emo ion
egula ion and on he egula ion s a egies ha people use,
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Hökkä e al. Emo ional Agency a Wo k Measu e
such as how people supp ess o inhibi hei au hen ic eelings
(English e al., 2017). By including he con ex ual elemen o
he si ua ion, ou concep ualiza ion o emo ional agency goes
beyond he psychological concep o emo ion egula ion. We
no e ha despi e ecen de elopmen s wi hin emo ion egula ion
li e a u e—including he ecogni ion o he ole ha con ex
plays in emo ional p ocesses (c ., B ockman e al., 2017;English
e al., 2017)— he main emphasis is s ill on he indi idual o
in e pe sonal pe spec i e and, u he , on con ol o e which
emo ions a e expe ienced (G oss, 2015).
In luencing emo ions a wo k also means s eng hening
posi i e emo ions in wo k communi ies, bea ing in mind ha
a suppo i e emo ional clima e is connec ed, o ins ance,
o be e se ice ou comes (Hä el e al., 2008) and os e s
knowledge sha ing among people in o ganiza ions (Jalili and
Salemipou , 2019). In addi ion, in luencing emo ions a wo k
means aking cons uc i e ac ions o deal wi h di icul and
unpleasan emo ions like anxie y and us a ion. Fo example,
a s udy by S ephens and Ca meli (2016) showed ha when
eam membe s we e able o cons uc i ely exp ess hei nega i e
emo ions his imp o ed he knowledge c ea ion wi hin he
eam and pe o mance ou comes. Thus, s eng hening posi i e
emo ions does no mean en o ced posi i i y, ha is, allowing
space only o posi i e emo ions and supp essing nega i e ones
(c ., Hochschild, 1983). To he con a y, in line wi h Pa ke and
Seo (2017), ou unde s anding o emo ional agency as in luen ial
emphasizes he impo ance o dealing wi h all kinds o emo ions
a wo k, including nega i e o unpleasan ones.
As jus desc ibed, we emphasize he in eg a i e na u e o
emo ional agency as encompassing bo h indi idual and social
aspec s o emo ion and beha io as well as cha ac e is ic aspec s
o agency a wo k. Based on his heo e ical unde s anding, we
assumed he s uc u e o emo ional agency o be comp ised o
wo dimensions: Emo ional Compe ence a Wo k and In luencing
Emo ions a Wo k. Since he e is so a no esea ch add essing
he s uc u e o emo ional agency, we aimed o alida e a measu e
and o explo e i s s uc u e wi hin di e en p o essional domains,
he inal goal hus being o de elop an applicable ins umen o
s udying and de eloping wo king li e.
Emo ional Agency and O he
Emo ion-Rela ed Cons uc s
Th ough his s udy, ou aim is o alida e he dimensions
o emo ional agency in ela ion o emo ional clima e a wo k
and wo k engagemen . In ou de ini ion o emo ional agency,
we emphasize i s in eg a i e na u e bo h as an indi idual and
social phenomenon, as sociocul u ally suppo ed and hinde ed
wi hin e e yday wo k p ac ices, and as an in en ional ac ion
o in luence emo ions a wo k. We p opose ha all o hese
concep s (emo ional agency, emo ional clima e a wo k, wo k
engagemen ) e e o a posi i e a achmen o wo k and ha
hey a e ela ed o some ex en . Acco dingly, we assumed ha
he e a e posi i e associa ions be ween emo ional agency and (i)
emo ional clima e a wo k as well as wi h (ii) wo k engagemen ,
bu ha emo ional agency is dis inc om hese wo phenomena.
Due o he absence o p e ious quan i a i e s udies on emo ional
agency, clea assump ions ega ding he magni ude o hese
associa ions we e no made.
Emo ional Clima e a Wo k
Emo ional clima e has been p oposed as a use ul concep o
unde s anding o ganiza ional li e and emo ions in he wo kplace
(Yu se e and de Ri e a, 2010;Liu e al., 2014). Using he
e m a ec clima e,Pa ke and Seo (2017, p. 335) de ined i as
“employees’ sha ed pe cep ion o o ganiza ional aspec s such as
policies, p ac ices and ou ines, as well as he beha io s ha
a e expec ed, suppo ed o ewa ded ega ding hei a ec i e
exp essions o expe iences.” Following his pe spec i e and
aligned o he gene al use o he “clima e” concep (Lu ia, 2019),
in he p esen s udy he emo ional clima e was unde s ood as
employees’ pe cep ions o he ex en o which hey pe cei e hei
o ganiza ional en i onmen o be conduci e o hei emo ions
and emo ion- ela ed beha io .
Pa ke and Seo (2017) cons uc ed a heo y o collec i e
a ec i e p ocesses ha an o ganiza ion’s a ec i e clima e shapes
and sus ains. Acco ding o Pa ke and Seo (2017), an au hen ic
expe ien ial clima e wi hin an o ganiza ion allows membe s o
openly discuss hei emo ions and o esol e nega i e eelings
hey ha e owa d one ano he . The au ho s desc ibed he ac o s
o a ec alence and a ec au hen ici y as esul ing in di e en
ypes o a ec i e clima es. Howe e , hey did no p o ide
measu es o e alua ing he emo ional clima e.
P e ious s udies ha e shown ha suppo i e emo ional
clima e has many posi i e a ec s a o ganiza ions. Fo example, a
s udy by Hä el and Liu (2012) p esen s he posi i e ela ionship
be ween emo ional clima e and wo kplace e ec i eness. A s udy
by Pa e son e al. (2004) showed ha sa is ac ion wi h he
o ganiza ional clima e was s ongly connec ed o company
p oduc i i y. In ou unde s anding o emo ional agency,
we unde line i s na u e bo h as an indi idual and social
phenomenon, and as sociocul u ally suppo ed and hinde ed
wi hin o ganiza ional p ac ices. We he e o e assumed ha
emo ional clima e a wo k and emo ional agency a e posi i ely
ela ed bu empi ically dis inc phenomena.
Wo k Engagemen
Wo k engagemen is a well-es ablished and widely used measu e,
comp ising he componen s o igo , dedica ion, and abso p ion
(Schau eli e al., 2002). When i s de eloped, wo k engagemen
was seen as a ela i ely s able phenomenon in ol ing a posi i e
wo k- ela ed s a e o mind. Howe e , ecen s udies ha e shown
ha bo h social and indi idual ac o s (e.g., job esou ces and
pe sonal esou ces) play a pi o al ole and a e impo an d i e s
o wo k engagemen (Schau eli e al., 2002). This implies he
si ua ional na u e o wo k engagemen .
P e ious esea ch on wo k engagemen and i s ela ion o
a ious wo k- ela ed phenomena gi es due weigh o he idea ha
emo ional agency and wo k engagemen a e posi i ely ela ed.
Wo k engagemen has been ound o ha e a posi i e associa ion,
o example, wi h job pe o mance (Bakke and Bal, 2010),
c ea i i y (Deme ou i e al., 2015), and job c a ing (Pe ou
e al., 2017). Fu he mo e, emo ion- ela ed esou ces such as
posi i e a ec (Laguna e al., 2017) and he psychological sa e y
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Hökkä e al. Emo ional Agency a Wo k Measu e
clima e (Ga ick e al., 2014) ha e been concep ualized as ypes
o wo kplace esou ces ha mode a e he nega i e ela ionship
be ween job demands and wo k engagemen . The e is s ong
e idence ha wo k engagemen can enhance bo h indi idual and
o ganiza ional ou comes in e ms o , o example, p omo ing
heal h and wellbeing a wo k (Bakke and Bal, 2010;Hakanen
and Schau eli, 2012). Fu he mo e, he e is e idence ha wo k
engagemen is posi i ely connec ed o p oduc i i y a wo k
(Bakke e al., 2014) and o he sus ainabili y o o ganiza ions
(Schau eli, 2013).
Since posi i e job- ela ed emo ions and wo k engagemen
a e bo h posi i e (wo k- ela ed) dimensions, i is easonable
o assume ha hey a e concep ually closely ela ed. The e a e
ne e heless g ounds o iewing hem as concep ually and
empi ically dis inc (see Van Wijhe e al., 2011). We an icipa ed
ha a simila dis inc ion applies o emo ional agency and wo k
engagemen , ha is, ha hey would be posi i ely ela ed bu
concep ually and empi ically dis inc phenomena.
THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In he p esen s udy, ou aim was o de elop and alida e a
measu e o in es iga ing emo ional agency in wo king li e. In
addi ion, we examined whe he employees om wo di e en
p o essional domains in e p e ed he measu e o emo ional
agency in a concep ually simila manne . O e all, we aimed o
alida e he measu e o emo ional agency in ela ion o he (i)
emo ional clima e a wo k and o (ii) wo k engagemen . The
esea ch ques ions (RQ) we e se as ollows:
RQ1. Wha dimensions can be iden i ied in e ms o emo ional
agency a he wo kplace?
RQ2. Do employees in wo di e en wo k con ex s in e p e
he measu e o emo ional agency in a simila manne ?
RQ3. Does emo ional agency show adequa e con e gen and
disc iminan alidi y in ela ion o emo ional clima e a wo k and
wo k engagemen ?
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Pa icipan s and P ocedu e
This s udy was conduc ed as pa o a la ge esea ch p ojec
encompassing wo o ganiza ions: eal es a e se ices (227
pa icipan s in o al) and heal hca e (118 pa icipan s in o al).
The da a we e ga he ed be o e he global COVID-19 pandemic,
in 2018 and 2019. The opic was ela ed o he companies’ in e nal
de elopmen p ojec s, and he da a collec ion was suppo ed
by he op managemen . To collec he da a, he au ho s sen
a pe sonal e-mail o he employees, in oducing he s udy and
in i ing hem o espond anonymously o he ques ionnai e ia
a sepa a e link. Pa icipa ion was olun a y, wi h he op ion
o wi hd aw a any ime. The pa icipan s did no ecei e any
inancial o p o essional bene i om hei pa icipa ion.
The s udy was conduc ed in line wi h he ins uc ions and
e hical p inciples laid down by he EU Gene al Da a P o ec ion
Regula ion (GDPR), he Academy o Finland, and he au ho s’
home uni e si y. The pa icipan s we e in o med o hese poin s
in he ques ionnai e, and he consen o ms we e collec ed
in conjunc ion wi h he in o ma ion. E hical issues, such as
olun a y pa icipa ion and comp ehensi e in o ma ion on he
s udy (e.g., i s pu pose and e hical p inciples), we e aken in o
accoun h oughou he s udy. The da a we e ga he ed om wo
di e en p o essional domains. The ques ionnai e was illed in by
240 pa icipan s. The pa icipan s in da a se 1 (n= 138) came
om eal es a e se ices, wi h a esponse a e o 61%. Those
in da a se 2 (n= 102) we e om he heal hca e sec o , wi h a
esponse a e o 86%.
The esponden p o iles o he pa icipan s om he wo
o ganiza ions we e ai ly simila (see Table 1). Howe e ,
hey di e ed no ably in e ms o gende (da a se 1 was
male-domina ed, while da a se 2 was emale-domina ed) and
educa ion (da a se 1 pa icipan s had a lowe educa ion le el
han hose in da a se 2). Fu he mo e, in da a se 1 mo e
o he employees had a oca ional educa ion, and hey also
had longe wo k expe ience in he o ganiza ion han did he
employees in da a se 2. The pa icipan s’ age, educa ion le el,
and gende co esponded o he domain-speci ic and gene al
employee dis ibu ion in Finland (Leh o and Su ela, 2014).
Measu es
Emo ional Agency a Wo k
When we se up his s udy, he e we e no measu es o in es iga e
emo ional agency a wo k. Hence, he i s s ep was o de elop
a ques ionnai e wi h ele an i ems. F om he incep ion o
his de elopmen and alida ion s udy, ou aim was o wo k
owa d a concise, igo ous, and use - iendly measu e. This
included he idea ha when add essing he con en alidi y o
he measu e he numbe o i ems mus emain wi hin easonable
limi s. Mo eo e , in o de o educe po en ial me hod biases,
we ca ied ou se e al p ocedu al me hods (Podsako e al.,
2003). Fi s , we paid a en ion o he ca e ul cons uc ion o he
i ems hemsel es by a oiding ambiguous e ms, ague concep s
and double-ba eled ques ions, and by keeping he ques ions
as simple and concise as possible. Second, in he in o ma ion
le e sha ed ia e-mail and in he online ques ionnai e’s
p e ace shee we in o med he pa icipan s ha he answe s a e
anonymous and ha he e a e no “ igh o w ong” answe s. In
addi ion, we unde lined ha he collec ed da a will be a ailable
only o he au ho s o his esea ch p ojec . These p ocedu al
me hods we e used o p o ec he esponden s’ anonymi y, educe
possible e alua ion app ehension, and imp o e he scale i ems
(Podsako e al., 2003).
In designing he ques ionnai e, we e e ed o (i) p e ious
esea ch on emo ions a wo k (e.g., Ashkanasy and Tse, 2000;
Zembylas, 2007;Bu le and G oss, 2009;Kim e al., 2009;
Hodzic e al., 2018;Hökkä e al., 2019, 2020), (ii) esea ch
on agency a wo k (e.g., Bille , 2011;E eläpel o e al., 2013,
2014;Damsa e al., 2017;Golle and Ha eis, 2017;Golle
and Paloniemi, 2017;Vähäsan anen e al., 2017), (iii) ou own
p io s udies, unde s andings and obse a ions, and (i ) close
collabo a ion wi h a eam o expe s wi h expe ise in emo ion
aining in a a ie y o wo k o ganiza ions and p o essional
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Hökkä e al. Emo ional Agency a Wo k Measu e
TABLE 1 | Desc ip i e s a is ics ( equencies, n; pe cen ages, %) o backg ound
a iables (N= 219–236).
Backg ound ac o s Desc ip i e s a is ics
Real es a e
se ices
(n= 138)
Heal hca e
se ices
(n= 102)
n%n%
Gende
(n= 236)
Men 103 75 23 24
Women 30 22 70 71
O he 5 3 5 5
Missing 0 4
χ2(2) = 61.79, p<0.001
Age g oup
(n= 228)
20–29 yea s 11 8 10 11
30–39 28 20 23 25
40–49 29 21 26 29
50–59 50 36 23 24
60 +19 14 9 11
Missing 1 11
χ2(4) = 5.32, n.s.
Le el o educa ion
(n= 233)
Lowa45 33 12 13
Mediumb78 57 59 61
Highc14 10 25 26
Missing 1 6
χ2(2) = 18.20, p<0.001
Wo k expe ience
(n= 219)
0–9 yea s 72 53 57 69
10–19 26 19 22 27
20 +38 28 4 5
Missing 2 19
χ2(2) = 17.82, p<0.001
Posi ion
(n= 232)
Leade s 22 16 14 15
Employees 116 84 80 85
Missing 0 9
χ2(1) = 0.047, n.s.
Valid equencies and pe cen ages a e p esen ed in he able.
aUppe seconda y school diploma.
bDeg ee om oca ional college o poly echnic, o a bachelo ’s deg ee om a
uni e si y.
cA leas a mas e ’s deg ee om a uni e si y o an equi alen deg ee om a
poly echnic.
ields. The ques ionnai e de elopmen was also pa ly based
on exis ing li e a u e add essing measu ing emo ions, no ably
emo ional compe ence (Ko sou e al., 2011;B asseu e al.,
2013;Wang e al., 2016) and emo ional in elligence (EI)
in eams (Jo dan and Law ence, 2009). Howe e , as ou
ocus was on emo ions and agency, he p e iously alida ed
scales we e no app op ia e o ou pu poses due o hei
indi idual ocus and/o psychology- ela ed o ien a ion. No e
also ha al hough some exis ing EI measu es a e connec ed
o eams (e.g., Jo dan and Law ence, 2009), bu ou aim was
o mo e b oadly cap u e he social and sha ed aspec s o
emo ions a he wo kplace, and also he beha io al aspec s o
emo ional agency.
We chose al oge he 12 i ems o ep esen emo ional agency
in he ini ial i em pool, ollowing a consensus on con en alidi y
and app op ia eness. These i ems a e p esen ed in Table 2
( a iables 1.1–2.5). The esponse op ions o he i ems anged
om 1 (I s ongly disag ee) o5(I s ongly ag ee). The ini ial
ques ionnai e and he web-based implemen a ion o i we e pilo -
es ed wi h se en p o essionals wo king in he ield o educa ion
in o de o ensu e he cla i y and ace alidi y o he i ems
(Podsako e al., 2003). On he basis o he pilo es ing, we made
some modi ica ions o he i em o mula ions and o he gene al
ins uc ions. O iginally, he i ems we e de eloped and p esen ed
in Finnish. The English ansla ions and back- ansla ions we e
made by a na i e English linguis ics expe who is also an
expe in he Finnish language. These ansla ions we e u he
iangula ed and discussed by he esea ch eam.
Emo ional Clima e a Wo k
The e exis a ew alida ed measu es o assess emo ional
clima e a wo k. Howe e , hese a e ocused on measu ing
ei he emo ions a he wo kg oup le el (Liu e al., 2014) o
on he p edominan collec i e emo ions o he majo i y o he
o ganiza ions’ membe s (Yu se e and de Ri e a, 2010). In ou
s udy, we we e in e es ed in inding ou abou indi iduals’ own
pe cep ions conce ning how emo ions a e aken in o accoun ,
pe mi ed and exp essed a hei wo kplace. Thus, we o mula ed
ou i ems o assess how encou aging indi iduals pe cei e hei
o ganiza ion o be in e ms o emo ion and emo ion- ela ed
beha io by u ilizing exis ing li e a u e and heo y (Pa ke and
Seo, 2017). The emphasis was on de eloping i ems ha would
cap u e cons uc i e aspec s o he emo ional clima e a he
o ganiza ional le el. The i ems a e: (1) “Emo ions a e aken in o
accoun in my wo kplace,” (2) “In my wo kplace, people a e able
o discuss emo ions in a cons uc i e way,” (3) “In my wo kplace,
people a e pe mi ed o exp ess di e en emo ions,” and (4) “In
my wo kplace, emo ions a e exp essed in a a ie y o ways.” The
pa icipan s a ed he i ems on a 5-poin scale anging om 1 (I
s ongly disag ee) o 5 (I s ongly ag ee). The ac o s uc u e o
he measu e is shown in Figu e 1. McDonald’s ω eliabili y o
he scale was 0.83.
Wo k Engagemen
Wo k engagemen was assessed wi h he Ul a-Sho Measu e
o Wo k Engagemen UWES-3 (Schau eli e al., 2019). The
ul a-sho e sion o he measu e was chosen o enhance he
conciseness and use - iendliness o he ques ionnai e. The i ems
o measu ing he h ee subscales a e: (1) “A my wo k, I
eel bu s ing wi h ene gy” ( igo ), (2) “I am en husias ic abou
my job” (dedica ion), and (3) “I am imme sed in my wo k”
(abso p ion). UWES-3 allowed us o use ad anced s a is ical
me hods applicable o ou da a size, and o limi he leng h o he
ques ionnai e. The esponse op ions anged om 0 (ne e ) o 6
(e e y day). The alidi y and eliabili y (C onbach’s alpha anging
om 0.77 o 0.88) o he UWES-3 measu e was con i med by
Schau eli e al. (2019). In ou s udy, he eliabili y assessed
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Hökkä e al. Emo ional Agency a Wo k Measu e
TABLE 2 | Desc ip i e s a is ics o he s udied a iables (N= 240).
Va iables M SD Skewness Ku osis
Emo ional agency (1 = s ongly disag ee, o 5 = s ongly ag ee)
Hypo hesized Dimension o Emo ional Compe ence a Wo k
1.1 I pay a en ion o emo ions in my wo kplace. 3.93 0.83 –0.72 0.50
1.2 I ha e good awa eness o my own emo ions a my wo k. 4.13 0.73 –0.74 0.81
1.3 I can desc ibe he a ious emo ions I expe ience a my wo k. 3.55 0.91 –0.28 –0.15
1.4 A my wo kplace, I can exp ess how I eel i necessa y. 3.76 0.90 –0.75 0.31
1.5 I ha e good skills in ecognizing emo ions a my wo kplace. 3.86 0.77 –0.73 1.14
1.6 I ha e ways o dealing wi h emo ions in my wo kplace. 3.55 0.79 –0.52 0.25
1.7 I am able o deal wi h nega i e emo ions in my wo kplace. 3.61 0.78 –0.72 0.80
Hypo hesized dimension o in luencing emo ions a wo k
2.1 I am able o in luence he emo ions I expe ience a my wo k. 3.80 0.79 –0.59 0.43
2.2 I am able o in luence o he people’s emo ions in my wo kplace. 3.43 0.85 –0.42 0.27
2.3 I can con ibu e o he emo ional clima e o my wo kplace. 4.14 0.79 –1.23 2.95
2.4 I am able o s eng hen posi i e emo ions a my wo kplace. 3.75 0.76 –0.57 1.13
2.5 I am able o c ea e a good a mosphe e a my wo kplace. 3.95 0.77 –0.81 1.74
Emo ional Clima e a Wo k
(1 = s ongly disag ee, o 5 = s ongly ag ee)
3.1 Emo ions a e aken in o accoun in my wo kplace. 3.23 0.99 –0.28 –0.40
3.2 In my wo kplace, people a e able o discuss emo ions in a cons uc i e way. 2.76 0.99 –0.74 –0.65
3.3 In my wo kplace, people a e pe mi ed o exp ess di e en emo ions. 3.43 0.96 –0.52 –0.03
3.4 In my wo kplace, emo ions a e exp essed in a a ie y o ways. 3.27 0.90 –0.31 –0.37
Wo k Engagemen (0 = ne e , o 6 = e e y day)
4.1 A my wo k, I eel bu s ing wi h ene gy. 5.39 1.35 –1.09 0.81
4.2 I am en husias ic abou my wo k. 5.61 1.40 –1.10 0.85
4.3 I am imme sed in my wo k. 5.27 1.60 –1.03 0.45
FIGURE 1 | Dimensions o emo ional agency in ela ion o Wo k engagemen (N= 240). S anda dized es ima es a e p esen ed (∗p<0.05, ∗∗∗p<0.001). The
numbe s be o e he emo ional agency i ems e e o he o iginal i em numbe s shown in Table 1. Fi s a is ics: χ2(53) = 68.32, p= 0.08; RMSEA = 0.04 [90%
CI = 0.00–0.06], CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.98; SRMR = 0.04.
ia McDonald’s ωwas 0.84. This co esponds o he ange o
eliabili y epo ed by Schau eli e al. (2019).
In gene al, in de eloping he new measu e and deciding wha
cons uc s o use o alida ing he s uc u e o he measu e o
emo ional agency, we ca e ully conside ed he possible me hod
biases. In his ega d, we ocused on conside ing how o a oid
social desi abili y and educing i em ambigui y as desc ibed. In
addi ion, we aimed o imp o e he scale i ems by using scales ha
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Hökkä e al. Emo ional Agency a Wo k Measu e
ha e di e en endpoin s and o ma s (i.e., 5-poin and 7-poin
scales) in o de o a oid me hod biases caused by commonali ies
in scale endpoin s (Podsako e al., 2003).
Da a Analysis
We conduc ed he analyses using Mplus so wa e, e sion 8.6
(Mu hén and Mu hén, 1998/2018). Desc ip i e s a is ics o he
s udied a iables a e shown in Table 2. The obus maximum
likelihood es ima o (MLR) was chosen as a me hod o es ima ion
since some o he i ems we e sligh ly skewed. The e we e no
missing alues among he analyzed a iables. Fo ou i s
esea ch ques ion, we used da a se 1. We examined he ac o
s uc u e o emo ional agency on he basis o 12 i ems, applying
explo a o y ac o analysis (EFA; Fab iga and Wegene , 2012;
Tabachnik and Fidell, 2013). We chose EFA as he me hod
o analysis because we we e de eloping a new measu e and
hence had no i m hypo heses conce ning ei he he numbe o
dimensions o emo ional agency a wo k o how he i ems would
e lec hese po en ial dimensions. An oblique geomin o a ion
was chosen, since i allowed he ac o s o emo ional agency o
be co ela ed. To iden i y possible ac o s uc u es, we elied on
se e al c i e ia: he eigen alues-g ea e - han-one ule o humb
(Kaise , 1960) in combina ion wi h Ca ell’s (1966) sc ee plo
es , pa allel analysis (Ho n, 1965) and i indices (see u he
on ega ding he i indices o explo a o y s uc u al equa ion
modeling, ESEM), plus ha ing an adequa e numbe o i ems pe
ac o (which should be a leas h ee; see Fab iga and Wegene ,
2012). We also conside ed he in e p e abili y o he solu ions and
hei consis ency wi h heo e ical p edic ions (Go such, 1983).
Mo eo e , i ems ha c oss-loaded (i.e., hose wi h a loading o
0.32 o highe ; see Tabachnik and Fidell, 2013) on wo o mo e
ac o s we e excluded om he inal solu ion. A e deciding on
he inal ac o s uc u e, McDonald’s ω(McDonald, 1999) was
compu ed o each ac o .
Ou second esea ch ques ion conce ned whe he employees
in wo di e en wo k con ex s in e p e ed he measu e o
emo ional agency simila ly. Hence, i was necessa y o examine
whe he he s uc u e o emo ional agency was in a ian ac oss
wo k con ex s. Fo he pu poses o he hi d esea ch ques ion,
we examined he con e gen and disc iminan alidi y o he
measu e o emo ional agency in ela ion o emo ional clima e a
wo k and wo k engagemen . Fo bo h o hese examina ions, we
u ilized da a se s 1 and 2.
A ypical app oach o hese kinds o esea ch ques ions has
been he use o con i ma o y ac o analysis (CFA) and s uc u al
equa ion modeling (SEM). Howe e , inc easing esea ch
e idence shows ha ins umen s assessing mul idimensional
cons uc s seldom manage o achie e a easonable i , an
adequa e di e en ia ion o ac o s o measu emen in a iance
ac oss g oups wi hin his adi ional amewo k (e.g., Ma sh
e al., 2009; o a e iew, see Ma sh e al., 2014). The p ima y
eason o his is ha such ins umen s ha e had c oss-loadings,
indica ing ha some o he i ems a e e lec ing no only hei
espec i e ac o bu also one o mo e o he ac o s. Thus,
hey a e impe ec indica o s o a la en cons uc . Al hough
hese c oss-loadings ha e been cohe en wi h he unde lying
heo y, in CFA modeling hey a e o ced o be ze o due o
assump ions inhe en in CFA. P e ious esea ch has shown ha
i c oss-loadings a e no es ima ed, CFA p oduces o e es ima ed
la en ac o co ela ions ha migh u he esul in biased
es ima es in SEM inco po a ing he CFA measu emen model
and o he a iables (e.g., Aspa ouho and Mu hén, 2009;Ma sh
e al., 2009).
As all o he a o emen ioned issues we e ele an o ou
in es iga ions, we decided o use explo a o y s uc u al equa ion
modeling (ESEM; Aspa ouho and Mu hén, 2009;Ma sh e al.,
2009) ins ead he CFA/SEM amewo k, especially since ESEM
can o e come hese limi a ions by in eg a ing EFA ac o s wi h
he analy ical possibili ies o CFA and SEM in a single amewo k.
The eby, we could conduc in a iance examina ions o he
EFA measu emen model o emo ional agency using mul ig oup
analysis, and we we e able o compa e hese compe ing models
h ough es s o s a is ical signi icance and i indices as well as o
include bo h EFA and CFA ac o s wi hin he same analysis.
We in es iga ed he measu emen in a iance o he s uc u e
o emo ional agency be ween da a se s 1 and 2 ia ou s eps,
e alua ed successi ely (Vandenbe g and Lance, 2000;Ma sh
e al., 2009). In he i s s ep, he con igu al in a iance (i.e., he
equi alence o he model o m) was es ed by es ima ing ac o
loadings, in e cep s, and esidual a iances o he i ems eely,
cons aining he la en a iances o 1 and he la en means o 0
ac oss he da a se s. The second s ep was o es weak in a iance.
This included he p eceding s ep plus he se ing o equal ac o
loadings ac oss he da a se s. The hi d s ep included a es o
s ong in a iance, wi hin which i em in e cep s (in addi ion o he
cons ain s ope a ing in he p eceding s eps) we e cons ained o
be equal ac oss da a se s. The ou h s ep, s ic in a iance, was
es ed by also cons aining i em esidual a iances so ha hey
would be equal. Finally, ac o a iances/co a iances we e se as
equal in o de o es hei in a iance ac oss he da a se s. In each
s ep, he model o he p eceding s ep se ed as a e e ence.
We assessed he goodness-o - i o all es ima ed models
on he basis o he χ2- es , he oo mean squa e e o o
app oxima ion (RMSEA), he Compa a i e Fi Index (CFI), he
Tucke –Lewis Index (TLI), and s anda dized oo mean squa e
esiduals (SRMR). Fi wi h he da a was conside ed accep able
i he p- alue o he χ2- es was non-signi ican , i CFI and
TLI alues we e g ea e han 0.95, i an RMSEA alue was less
han 0.06, and i an SRMR alue was less han 0.08 (Hu and
Ben le , 1999). Ye , i is impo an o no e ha hese cu -o s
we e es ablished o he adi ional CFA/SEM amewo k, and
ESEM schola s (e.g., Ma sh e al., 2009, 2010) ha e sugges ed
ha i indices which include a co ec ion o pa simony (TLI
and RMSEA) may be pa icula ly impo an in ESEM, gi en ha
he numbe o es ima ed pa ame e s is much la ge han in CFA.
Howe e , esea ch ega ding he adequacy o hese c i e ia o
EFA and ESEM is s ill lacking (A ens and Mo in, 2016). Hence,
in line wi h p e ious ESEM applica ions (e.g., Ma sh e al., 2009,
2010;A ens and Mo in, 2016), we used hese c i e ia only as
ough guidelines o acili a ing he model e alua ion and, a he
same ime, conside ed he heo e ical adequacy o he model o
de e mining he i o ou ESEM models.
We compa ed he models a each s ep o he in a iance
es ing p ocess using he scaled χ2di e ence es
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