It is an interesting question!
They call it by various names...the magnification factor the crop factor...Canon is 1.6, Nikon is 1.5, micro four thirds is 2X...the one thing they all have in common is the 24X36 standard. The standard 35mm film size.
Format is a word you need to study if you want to really learn about photography. You will discover that many different formats have been used over the years. Oskar developed the 24X36 and revolutionized the camera because he had asthma and needed a compact camera to take along on his hikes. Then there is medium format - bigger than 35mm but smaller than 4.5...believe it or not it is just about as famous as 35mm to pro photographers over the years...all of those photos of Marilyn Monroe and all of the Playboy bunnies were shot in medium format most of the time. The reason why was resolution...we're talking like 40 megapixels. Megapixels is an important part of the OP question
But did you know that to this very day there is not a camera made, film or digital, that will make a picture with higher resolution than a Daguerreotype? It is a fact (Wired magazine says 140,000 megapixels - not 14 not 140...140,000MP)! And the Daguerreotype used formats different even than the common 35mm, medium format, and large formats that we still use today. When George Eastman brought the camera to the masses for the first time it used still a different format than any of the above.
My reason for going through all of this stuff?
It doesn't matter what lens focal length you use or what fstop shutter speed or ASA/ISO you have or if it is on automatic program or manual...the crop factor doesn't matter...it doesn't matter if you use DX or FX or film or wet plates or calotypes for that matter...it is just a format of sorts...exploit whatever it is to the best of your ability!!! It is all about the person behind the viewfinder really!
If you really want to understand what the crop factor (in relation to modern DSLR terminology) is all about you must learn about a lot of this other stuff and mainly what the significance of 24X36 is!
Anyone who thinks that FX is inherently superior to DX is misguided in their understanding of photography...same goes for film vs digital..medium format vs 35mm...etc...