The statistical evaluation of the dimensionality of the employee silence measurement scale

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of employee organizational silence, defined as the conscious decision to withhold opinions, suggestions, or warnings that could be relevant to the organization. Although there is broad conceptual agreement on its definition, controversies persist concerning its empirical validity and the construct’s dimensional structure. The primary objective of this research is to assess the discriminant validity of the dimensions comprising employee silence. This was done by applying the scale proposed by Knoll et al., which has been widely used and validated in multiple languages, to a sample of 123 Spanish-speaking public employees in Chile, all of whom were members of a local government organization internal. Consistency and convergent validity were examined using Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and average variance extracted (AVE), complemented by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify the instrument’s multidimensional configuration. The findings indicate that, although the scale demonstrates adequate reliability, there are difficulties in empirically distinguishing between acquiescent silence and defensive silence. Factorial analyses suggest that these two dimensions exhibit a high degree of overlap, which led to the proposal of a new category termed resignation–fear silence. Consequently, a revised three-factor model is proposed to describe silence behavior: a) prosocial silence, b) opportunistic silence, and c) resignation–fear silence. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of advancing both the conceptual and empirical analysis of employee silence to improve its measurement and understanding within organizational contexts.