Second-order Structural Equation Modeling Research Articles

Hybrid Evaluation Model to assess the overall barriers of public-private partnership contracts

Public-private partnerships are increasingly being used in many countries as a common management technique to enhance the delivery of public services and major public infrastructure projects. Understanding the project characteristics and obstacles to a public-private partnership is key for those involved to improve implementation. This study focuses on barriers that arise from public-private partnership contact in field wastewater treatment plants and offers a methodology for evaluating the overall barrier for public-private partnership projects by analyzing the relationships between the barrier elements. A primary list of barrier factors and their eight latent project characteristics were collected through literature reviews, then using the Delphi technique to filter the barrier insights concerning project characteristics and develop the final list using field interviews. 207 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was deconvoluted into crisp numbers using fuzzy set theory, and a second-order structural equation model was used to validate the conceptual model. The results of the study indicate that the availability payment capability group has the highest score of all the groups in this study. This study proposed a model that enables the private sector to measure and evaluate aggregate barriers in projects so that it is easier for decision-makers to determine whether they can choose the project or not.

Young children with intellectual disabilities and their mathematical attainments: Do parents' attitudes toward mathematics, home numeracy, and literacy practices matter?

This study explored potential factors of numeracy acquisition in young children with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Those factors are determined to assess parents' academic expectations and home practices that they use with their children daily. The sample consisted of 187 Greek-speaking couples, comprising a total number of 374 parents. All of them had a child with mild IDs aged between 4 and 7 years old. Since Greece is placed among European countries with the lowest median disposable income it is significant to assess the potential effects of each family's socioeconomic status. We employed structural equation modeling to identify potential factors affecting a child's with IDs numeracy outcomes. Analysis of moments structures (AMOS) revealed that there is a good fit for the suggested second-order structural equation model. Results are discussed regarding their practical implications.

The Effect of Owner-Managers’ Personality Traits on Organisational Ambidexterity in the Context of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This empirical study aimed to analyse the influence of the personality traits of owner-managers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on organisational ambidexterity (OA). Based on the existing literature, five hypotheses were formulated about the relationships between the Big Five personality traits and organisational ambidexterity. A second-order structural equation model was used with a sample of 224 Portuguese SMEs in the sector of information technology (IT), telecommunications, and audio-visual and IT consultancy. The results obtained suggest that the personality traits of extraversion, neuroticism (versus emotional stability) and conscientiousness have a significant influence on organisational ambidexterity. These results are consistent with the research and demonstrate that owner-managers’ personality traits influence organisational ambidexterity in SMEs. Theoretical and practical implications are explored.

Enhancing Resilience: Analyzing Its Impact with a Second-Order Structural Equation Model on Burnout Among Mexican University Students During COVID-19

Enhancing Resilience: Analyzing Its Impact with a Second-Order Structural Equation Model on Burnout Among Mexican University Students During COVID-19

Students’ intention towards self-employment: An application of ELT theory on the effectiveness of entrepreneurial education types

Self-employment taught via entrepreneurial education is among the vital tools that could curb the high unemployment rate and social vices raving countries such as Nigeria. Drawing upon the experiential learning theory (ELT), this study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial education and its types (and formal, informal and non-formal education) on students’ intention towards self-employment. We successfully analyzed 532 questionnaires from respondents randomly selected from six federal universities in the southwestern Nigerian region. Employing first- and second-order structural equation modeling to analyze the collected data, we affirm the significant effect of entrepreneurial education on students' intention toward self-employment. However, only the formal education type of the three education types was found to affect students’ intentions. The results aligned with the view of ELT that the absence of one or more education types in the entrepreneurial education offered to students might be the crucial reason why fewer than expected students develop the intention towards self-employment after entrepreneurial education exposure.

Good Governance in Rural Local Administration

The governance principle is an important aspect of good governance, and its implementation is believed to have a good impact on governance outcomes, such as corruption reduction and performance improvement. The governance principle has been developed for several types of organisations. However, previous studies did not focus on the rural local administration’s governance. This study aims to develop a good governance principle for the rural local administration. There are four objectives of this study: first, to identify governance principles and their indicators in the literature; second, to create a governance principle using exploratory factor analysis; third, to model the governance principle using the structural equation model (SEM); and finally, to analyse any different perceptions about the governance principles for the rural local administration using univariate analysis. The result showed that 33 indicators of governance principles were identified through the literature. Using 238 usable questionnaires and exploratory factor analysis, we found 6 governance principles: fairness and capability, inclusivity, legitimacy and direction, participation, performance and information, and transparency and accountability. Using the second-order SEM in SmartPLS, we developed a governance principle model for the rural local administration. A few indicators of governance principles found were deleted through measurement model validation. In addition, the univariate analysis concluded that perceptions did not differ by the sex, education level, and occupation type of respondents. In other words, they agreed with the governance principle for the rural local administration. This study has practical and theoretical implications, which are discussed in detail in this article.

Financial socialization, strength of social ties and investment literacy of investors in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms

This study explores survey data of investors in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending aiming to assess their investment literacy, how this literacy is affected by their financial socialization and the strength of their social ties, and whether this effect differs among investors’ sociodemographic groups. Our research model was built based on Gudmunson and Danes (2011), Gudmunson et al. (2016) and Potrich et al. (2016). It measured investment literacy, assessing three components — knowledge, skills and attitudes; included multiple socialization agents; and investigated both direct and indirect effects of financial socialization. Descriptive and reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and second-order structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis were employed. The results indicate that the investment literacy of P2P lending investors is high. The compound direct effect of financial socialization on the overall level of investment literacy was found to be positive and stronger than on its individual components. Although the strength of social ties had a strong influence on financial socialization, its indirect effect on investment literacy was rather weak. Peers proved to be the main socialization agent and exhibited the strongest social ties with the respondents. The strongest effect of financial socialization on the investment literacy was identified for P2P lending investors in 18–34 years group working in the financial sector with a net monthly income below 1500 euros. The research contributes to the existing literature by providing the methodology and valuable insights into the level of financial literacy among P2P investors and how investment literacy is or is not formed under social interaction in a close social environment.

A hybrid SEM-ANN model for predicting overall rework impact on the performance of bridge construction projects

Determining the factors that cause rework in bridge is necessary to assess the impact of rework on a cost, which have been increasing in recent times. This research aims to evaluate the impact of rework on cost. In contrast to prior rework research, which focused heavily on structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis; this study uses a hybrid learning analytic approach based on the acceptance of a hybrid approach where the outputs of the second-order structural equation model are used as inputs to the artificial neural network, which derived from deep learning. Through the means of a questionnaire survey, 260 experts have participated in the study. The findings indicated that all rework factors have significant positive impacts on cost. There were 33 reasons for rework that affect the project performance. Using Delphi technology, these variables were reduced to 27. The final SEM model adapts 21 factors across five groups for reworking reasons. Wherein, the initial model RMSEA was 0.071, it became 0.057 in the final SEM model. The proposed hybrid model supports the relevance of the construction process-related factors in reducing rework on the bridge project. In comparison to the predicted value of the rework calculated by the hybrid model, the error rate was within 10 %. In practise, the findings will allow decision-makers and practitioners on construction sites to determine which aspects should be prioritised above others and design their policies appropriately. Methodologically, this study determines the deep ANN architecture's capabilities in finding non-linear correlations among the elements in the theoretical model.

The Strategy of Factors Influencing Learning Satisfaction Explored by First and Second-Order Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

The goal of this research was to create a partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) with a second-order structural model to investigate the interaction between research-based methodologies and relationship factors that significantly influence learning satisfaction among university students. The instruments used in this study were a simple random sampling technique for structural equation model (SEM) analysis, while a quantitative process of survey data collection was manipulated through SPSS and Smart-PLS. The presented study attempted to explore whether teachers’ strategies are linked with their students for the students’ learning satisfaction. Thus, it represents the demands and expectations of two statistically significant common phenomena: research-based components and relationship approach components. This set of teaching techniques encourages university students and enhances their learning satisfaction. Moreover, this study explored teaching strategies that influence factors having a directly significant influence on learning satisfaction at university level. Each factor measures the relationship’s construct, proven to be a second-order SEM reflective model that is statistically significant. Our study explored learning satisfaction as an integral part of teaching strategies, by first- and second-order structural equation modeling, supported by students’ expectations, and the study’s empirical results provide potential implications for learning satisfaction.

Effect of lean manufacturing tools on sustainability: the case of Mexican maquiladoras.

The Mexican maquiladora industry is applying Lean Manufacturing Tools (LMT) in its production lines; however, few studies have investigated its relationship with sustainability (social, economic, and environmental). This paper presents a second-order structural equation model (SEM) relating 8 LMT integrated into three independent latent variables: continuous improvement (Kaizen and Gemba), supporting tools (Andon, visual management, and Poka-yoke), and machinery and equipment (total productive maintenance, overall equipment effectiveness, and Jidoka) that are related to social, economic, and environmental sustainability as dependent variables. The model is validated with information obtained from 249 companies using partial least squares. Findings show that the application of LMT in the Mexican maquiladora industry avoids the generation of waste and reprocessing. Likewise, the improvement of production processes reduces the waste emitted into the environment and reduces energy consumption. Also, when companies have environmental programs, the work environment is safe, and labor relations are improved, increasing morale and the commitment to work for the company, gaining economic and ecological benefits.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-022-18978-6.

Lean Manufacturing Tools Applied to Material Flow and Their Impact on Economic Sustainability

This paper presents a second-order structural equation model that analyzes three lean manufacturing tools associated with material flow, such as 5S, SMED, and continuous flow related to economic sustainability. The variables relate to each other through six hypotheses, tested with 169 responses to a questionnaire applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry, using the partial least squares technique and 95% confidence to estimate direct, the sum of indirect, and total effects. In addition, an analysis with conditional probabilities appears to determine how low and high implementation levels in independent variables affect the dependent variables’ occurrence. Findings indicate that 5S is a lean manufacturing tool with the most increased direct effects on SMED and continuous flow. Additionally, values indicate that SMED is essential to maintain continuous flow in production lines and is vital for economic sustainability due to the time reduction in setup.

고객화가 서비스 품질 및 사용 의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구: 신선식품 새벽배송 모바일 앱을 중심으로

Buying fresh food on online has become a trend recently, while the early morning fresh food delivery market shows a great growth potential. In this paper, we examine the relationship among customization, service quality and intention to use. A second-order Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) and Baron & Kenny

Performance effects of value stream costing and accounting performance measures in lean production companies – accounting for time compression

The first purpose of this research is to study how and whether the joint use of lean production, value stream costing and accounting performance measures contribute to performance. Comparing a first-order and second-order structural equation model with survey data from 368 American production facilities, we find that lean production and management accounting practices (value stream costing and accounting measures of variance) collectively – rather than additively – affect performance. This finding indicates that organisations obtain greater performance by integrating lean production and management accounting practices into a system. The second purpose of this research is to determine whether the length of time organisations have employed lean production (‘time with lean’) moderates the joint effect of lean production and management accounting practices on performance. We find that the joint performance effect is positively moderated by the time with lean (i.e. we find a positive progressive learning curve). This contradicts the traditional wisdom on learning, which suggests that the benefits from learning are degressive. We argue that this positive moderation derives from the difficulty of understanding relations between multiple variables and the need for organisations to promote system-wide coherence via holistic changes.

Tourists’ Motivation, Place Attachment, Satisfaction and Support Behavior for Festivals in the Migrant Region of China

This study aimed to explore the relationships among tourist motivation, place attachment, satisfaction and support behavior for hosting festivals in the migrant region of China. A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct an on-site survey and a second-order structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed. The results of the current study showed that visitors’ general festival motivations had a positive influence on their place attachment and satisfaction. Visitors’ theme-related motivations had a positive influence on their place identity and satisfaction. Place dependence and place identity also positively affected their low-effort support behavior. In addition, visitors’ place identity was a positive antecedent of their high-effort support behavior. Visitors’ place attachment had a positive influence on their satisfaction and visitors’ satisfaction positively affected their support behavior. This study encouraged festival organizers to become aware that place attachment performs an important role in attracting tourists, and nostalgia is one of the most important motivations for hosting festivals in the migrant region of China. As a result, this study provides crucial insights that organizers should pay attention to place attachment and place identity in order to satisfy visitors and support festival activities.

ISO 9001 effectiveness and financial performance of Bosnian exporters: investigating mediators

Despite the fact that the relationship between quality practices and financial performance has been significantly addressed in managerial literature, few studies investigated mediators in this relationship, and very few of them focused on the ISO 9001 effectiveness. This study aimed at exploring both the relationship and the mediators between ISO 9001 effectiveness and financial performance of the Bosnian exporting companies. Based on the recent literature, a second-order structural equation model was proposed and tested. The empirical data were obtained from a questionnaire of 126 ISO 9001-certified Bosnian exporting companies. Once data were collected, factory data analysis was made in SPSS to purify scales through items' loadings and cronbach's alpha values. Afterwards, the resultant scales were tested for Convergent validity through partial least-square path modelling using Smart PLS 3 software. For confirmatory factor analysis purpose, individual evaluation of the first-order and second-order latent constructs, as well as model fit, was made. Results indicated that total effects of ISO 9001 effectiveness on financial performance were significant and positive, and that organizational learning capability fully mediated this relationship.

An Empirical Study on the Exploration of Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction in Logistics Distribution Service

In order to solve the problem of lacking quantitative description method for customer satisfaction of logistics distribution service, based on the China Customer Satisfaction Index model, the three core influencing factors named perceived service quality, expected service quality and brand image were respectively set up with second-level measurement indicators, to explore its impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty, and then construct a customer satisfaction evaluation model for logistics distribution service. The second-order structural equation model is used to analyze the quantitative relationship among the influencing factors, between satisfaction and loyalty, and the effect of each influencing factor on the customer satisfaction of logistics distribution service. Finally, the model is applied to the case analysis of residents in the main urban area of Chongqing. The results show that the perceived service quality (0.63***) and perceived service cost (-0.40***) have the most significant impact on the customer satisfaction of logistics distribution service. Customer satisfaction plays a decisive role in customer loyalty (0.78***).

Mismatches in Suppliers' and Demanders' Cognition, Willingness and Behavior with Respect to Ecological Protection of Cultivated Land: Evidence from Caidian District, Wuhan, China.

Cultivated land systems have an enormous ecological function value with respect to water conversation, nutrient circulation and climate regulation. The people’s cognition, willingness and behavior may prove to be pivotal in ecologically protecting cultivated land. The purpose of this paper is to explore suppliers’ and demanders’ cognition, willingness and behavior with respect to the ecological protection of cultivated land. The second-order structural equation model was employed, and a five-point Likert scale was designed. Based on data obtained from a questionnaire surveyed on a sample of 460 (farming and no-farming households) from Caidian district, Wuhan, China, the results show that within/between suppliers and demanders, there are mismatches in willingness as well as behavior to ecologically protect cultivated land. In the suppliers group and in the demanders group, there are mismatches with respect to the interactive mechanism of cognition, willingness and behavior in the ecological protection of cultivated land. Three factors, subjective norms, attitude toward behavior, and perceived behavior control, affect willingness and behavior with respect to protection differently between the suppliers and the demanders. The “intermediary” effects of willingness and behavior in the ecological protection of cultivated land only appear in the demanders model, and are not significant in the suppliers model. In addition, another finding was that farmers’ behavior as suppliers and demanders of ecological protection of cultivated land were mismatched. The article contributes firstly to exploring the ecological protection of cultivated land from the perspective of suppliers’ and demanders’ subjective psychology. Farmers with “dual roles” as suppliers and demanders should pay more attention to the ecological protection of cultivated land. Their cognition and skills in the ecological protection of cultivated land are in need of improvement. It is also necessary to bridge the gap between suppliers and demanders; access to the knowledge of the ecological value of cultivated land will incentivize their behavior with respect to the ecological protection of cultivated land.

Enabling use of standard variable costing in lean production

This study presents empirical evidence that the increased enabling use of standard variable costing (SVC) increases performance, and decreases the level of goal-incongruent behaviour in a lean production context. This enabling use is examined by the application of the framework of enabling formalization, characterized by; repair, internal transparency, global transparency, and flexibility. This study finds they have a joint, complementarity, effect on performance and lean-congruent behaviour using a second-order structural equation model applied to a survey from inside two case companies. These results are combined with qualitative evidence. This paper helps practitioners to understand the consequences (goal incongruent behaviour and performance) of less enabling use of SVC. Practitioners can also be guided by the enabling framework questions, we developed, to gauge how well their costing models is fitting lean production in their companies. Lastly, it is concluded that SVC can be used in an enabling way in lean production. This feeds into the ongoing discussion on which costing models that fit with lean production.

ISO 9001 effectiveness and financial performance of Bosnian exporters: investigating mediators

Despite the fact that the relationship between quality practices and financial performance has been significantly addressed in managerial literature, few studies investigated mediators in this relationship, and very few of them focused on the ISO 9001 effectiveness. This study aimed at exploring both the relationship and the mediators between ISO 9001 effectiveness and financial performance of the Bosnian exporting companies. Based on the recent literature, a second-order structural equation model was proposed and tested. The empirical data were obtained from a questionnaire of 126 ISO 9001-certified Bosnian exporting companies. Once data were collected, factory data analysis was made in SPSS to purify scales through items' loadings and cronbach's alpha values. Afterwards, the resultant scales were tested for Convergent validity through partial least-square path modelling using Smart PLS 3 software. For confirmatory factor analysis purpose, individual evaluation of the first-order and second-order latent constructs, as well as model fit, was made. Results indicated that total effects of ISO 9001 effectiveness on financial performance were significant and positive, and that organizational learning capability fully mediated this relationship.

The determinants of customer loyalty in the Indonesian ride-sharing services: offline vs online

Purpose This study aims to analyze the effect of service quality on trust, satisfaction and loyalty by adopting two models, namely, conventional service quality model from Parasuraman and information systems (IS) success model from Delone and McLean. Design/methodology/approach Respondents of this study were users of shared-motorcycle services who filled out a complete questionnaire totaling 507. This research used a second-order structural equation model. All question items had quite high reliability and validity based on the result of confirmatory factor analysis with a value of average variance extracted and composite reliability which was higher than 0.70. The goodness of fit was quite good with the values x2/df = 2.493, incremental fit index = 0.921, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.917, comparative fit index = 0.921 and root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.054. Findings Online and offline ride-sharing services reveal a strong and positive influence on trust and satisfaction. Trust reveals a strong and positive influence on satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, satisfaction reveals a strong and positive influence on loyalty. The research in general shows that the quality of offline service is more influential than the quality of online service in the case of ride-sharing service provided by two companies in Indonesia. Research limitations/implications The sampling frame of the research was diverse, including students of various collages and junior high schools, various private company workers and government employees. So, the results cannot be generalized to all populations especially to all Indonesian customers. It is recommended to increase the number of samples by focusing on the community groups of customers of public motorbikes, so that these groups can be compared. Next, the research finds that both service quality based on IS and service quality models reveal a strong and positive influence on loyalty both directly and indirectly. Originality/value The research uses respondents who use motorcycle services both online and offline. The findings of the research are important for online and offline ride-sharing motorbike service providers. They have to maintain their excellent services to the customers.