Abstract
Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) has become very popular in recent years, for measuring concepts that depend on different aspects and that are based on different types of relationships. PLS-PM represents a useful tool to explore relationships and to analyze the influence of the different aspects on the complex phenomenon analyzed. In particular, the use of higher-order constructs has allowed researchers to extend the application of PLS-PM to more advanced and complex models. In this work, our attention is focused on higher-order constructs that include reflective or formative relationships. Even if the dispute between formative models and reflective models is not exactly recent, it is still alive in current literature, for the most part within the context of structural equation models. This paper focuses attention on theoretical and mathematical differences between formative and reflective measurement models within the context of the PLS-PM approach. A simulation study is proposed in order to show how these approaches fit well in different modeling situations. The approaches have been compared using empirical application in a sustainability context. The findings from the simulation and the empirical application can help researchers to estimate and to use the higher-order PLS-PM approach in reflective and formative type models.
Highlights
Over the last 30 years, many researchers have focused their attention on measuring the importance of constructs and the nature of the relationships between constructs
The aim of this paper is to compare the performance of the different approaches available in Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) to estimate the HOCs in different modeling situations through a simulation study, in which we include all types of HOCs in our conceptual framework
The paper is organized as follow: in Sect. 2 we provide some conceptual background to the problem of formative vs reflective constructs; Sect. 3 reports the theoretical principles of the PLS-PM approach and, in detail, Higher-Order PLS-PM; in Sect. 4 the different approaches proposed in the literature are discussed; Sect. 5 presents the results of the simulation study while Sect. 6 reports the main results of the application case study; some concluding remarks will be made in the final Section
Summary
Over the last 30 years, many researchers have focused their attention on measuring the importance of constructs and the nature of the relationships between constructs The focus of their scientific works, regarding reflective and formative relationships, has been primarily on identification and estimation issues (Blalock 1982; Bollen and Lennox 1991). In PLS-PM, the selection of the construct mode of the Higher-Order approach, reflective or formative, is an important moment for researchers. They can choose among a reflective-reflective, reflectiveformative, formative-reflective or formative-formative model (Jarvis et al 2003; Wetzels et al 2009). The results of the simulation will allow us to formulate guidelines and recommendations for the use of the different approaches for different type higher-order constructs in PLS-PM. The paper is organized as follow: in Sect. 2 we provide some conceptual background to the problem of formative vs reflective constructs; Sect. 3 reports the theoretical principles of the PLS-PM approach and, in detail, Higher-Order PLS-PM; in Sect. 4 the different approaches proposed in the literature are discussed; Sect. 5 presents the results of the simulation study while Sect. 6 reports the main results of the application case study; some concluding remarks will be made in the final Section
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