PLS-SEM: A Comprehensive Introduction

This course offers you a comprehensive introduction into the principles of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Starting with the specification of the structural and measurement models, we introduce the principles of PLS-SEM and recent developments of the method. We continue by discussing the evaluation of reflectively and formatively specified measurement models, including all relevant metrics. The next section deals with the structural model evaluation, covering various types of metrics to assess a model’s explanatory and predictive power. We also discuss measures for goodness-of-fit testing and model comparisons. To facilitate learning, we illustrate all metrics and decisions researchers need to make using an empirical example on corporate reputation. The datasets and model files can be downloaded from www.pls-sem.com.

Your instructors

Christian M. Ringle is a Professor of Management at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Germany, and an Adjunct Professor at the Waikato Management School, New Zealand. His research has been published in journals such as International Journal of Research in Marketing, Information Systems Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , and MIS Quarterly. He co-developed the SmartPLS software and regularly teaches doctoral seminars on multivariate statistics, especially the PLS-SEM method.

Marko Sarstedt is Professor of Marketing at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (Germany) and Adjunct Research Professor at Babeș-Bolyai-University Cluj-Napoca (Romania). His research has been published in journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, MIS Quarterly, Multivariate Behavioral Research, and Organizational Research Methods. He has co-authored two widely adopted textbooks on PLS-SEM and regularly gives seminars on the method worldwide.