Special issue editorial: Advanced partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) applications in business research

Abstract

This special issue comprises a series of advanced applications of and methodological developments concerning PLS-SEM in business research. PLS-SEM,1 introduced by Wold, 1975, Wold, 1982 and Lohmöller (1989), models the structural relationships between constructs (i.e., the latent variables) as empirical approximations of theoretical concepts. Each construct is operationalized by a measurement model with a set of indicators (i.e., observed variables). The PLS-SEM method estimates the entire model with the aim of maximizing the explained variance of the dependent constructs in the structural model and of the indicators in the constructs’ measurement models (Lohmöller, 1989, Wold, 1982).