On the use of facet analysis in organizational behavior research: Some conceptual considerations and an example

Several recent studies in organizational behavior have utilized facet analysis for different purposes. This paper summarizes the principles of facet analysis and demonstrates an appropriate application of the methodology in an empirical study of soldiers evaluations of their military commanders. Theory construction according to facet analysis starts with a theoretical definition of the domain of interest, continues with the description of the correspondence between the theoretical definition and an empirical aspect of the observations, and ends with data analysis and hypotheses testing. The utilization of facet analysis for classification and theory construction are discussed.