Chapter 13: Recommended PLS-SEM Resources

1. Books

Handbook of Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Marketing: Concepts, Methods, and Applications

Editors: Vincenzo Esposito Vinzi, Wynne W. Chin, Jorg Henseler, & Huiwen Wangalso Publisher: Springer, 2010

Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling: Basic Concepts, Methodological Issues and Applications

Editors: Latan, H., & Noonan, R.

Publisher: Springer, 2017

A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM)

Authors: Joseph F. Hair, Jr., G. Tomas M. Hult, Christian Ringle, and Marko Sarstedt Publisher: Sage, 2017

Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling: Recent Advances in Banking and Finance

Editors: Avkiran, N. K., & Ringle, C. M.

Publisher: Springer, 2018

2. Conferences

International Conference on Partial Least Squares and Related Methods

Every few years, professors around the world come together to present their insights on PLS-SEM. Often, many useful papers and PowerPoint presentations from the presenters can be downloaded from the conference website. The International Conference on Partial Least Squares and Related Methods has been held in the following years and locations:

PLS’99 in Jouy-en-Josas (France)

PLS’01 in Anacapri (Italy)

PLS’03 in Lisbon (Portugal)

PLS’05 in Barcelona (Spain)

PLS’07 in As (Norway)

PLS’09 in Beijing (China)

PLS’12 in Houston (USA)

PLS’14 in Paris (France) Web: https://sites.google.com/site/partialleastsquares2014/

PLS’17 in Macau (China) Web: https://www.aconf.org/conf 86922.html

3. Discussion Forums

The PLS-SEM Forum on Google Groups

Web: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/pls-sem

SmartPLS’ Discussion Forum

Web: http://forum.smartpls.com

ResearchGate

Web: http://www.researchgate.net

Note: ResearchGate does not officially run any forums but there is a great “search” function where you can locate Q&A on any topics related to PLS-SEM.

Training Workshops PLS School workshop

Web: http://www.pls-school.com

Contact: Dr. Jorg Henseler (University of Twente, Enschede)

PLS-SEMINARS

Web: https://www.udemy.com/user/drgeoffreyhubona/

Contact: Dr. Geoffrey Hubona (Texas A&M International University)

PLS-SEM Courses

Web: https://www.pls-sem.net/courses

Contact: Dr. Joseph F. Hair (University of Southern Alabama), Dr. Christian M. Ringle (Hamburg University of Tech), and Dr. Marko Sarstedt (OVGU Magdeburg)

4. Software

ADANCO

Platform: Windows Version: 2.1.0

Web: https://www.composite-modeling.com

Developers: Prof. Dr. Jorg Henseler and Prof. Dr. Theo K. Dijkstra

Note: This software can model composites, common factors, and single-indicator constructs. It also facilitates causal and predictive modeling.

Desktop PLS-GUI Application

Version: Beta December 2014 Web: https://pls-gui.com

Developers: Prof. Geoffrey Hubona and Dean Lim Note: This software is still in beta version.

PLS-Graph

Platform: Windows Version: 3.0

Developer: Soft Modeling, Inc. / Prof. Wynne W. Chin Web: http://www.plsgraph.com/

Download: Not publicly available.

Price: Free, subject to author’s approval

Note: Development of this software has been discontinued.

plspm

Platform: Windows and MacOSX Version: 0.4.9

Download: http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/plspm/index.html Price: Free

Note: This software requires the use of “r” Statistical Software SmartPLS

Platform: Windows and Mac OSX

Version: 2.0M3 (Windows only) and 3.2.8 (Windows and Mac)

Web: http://www.smartpls.com

Price: Free for v2; Free and paid versions for v3

VisualPLS

Platform: Windows Version: 1.04b1

Developer: Professor Jen-Ruei Fu

Web: http://www2.kuas.edu.tw/prof/fred/vpls/index.html Download: https://www.openfoundry.org/of/projects/604/download Price: Free

Note: Development of this software has been discontinued.

WarpPLS

Platform: Windows Version: 6.0

Developer: ScriptWarp Systems / Dr. Ned Kock Web: http://www.scriptwarp.com/warppls

Download: http://download.cnet.com/WarpPLS/3000-20411 4-75042779.html Note: Time-limited fully functional free trial available; commercial version available.

XLSTAT-PLSPM/Marketing/Psy/Premium

Platform: Windows and Mac OSX Developer: XLSTAT

Web: http://www.xlstat.com/en/products/xlstat-plspm/

Note: This software requires the use of Microsoft Excel

Others

• Older software packages include DOS-based LVPLS 1.8 (Jan-Bernd Lohmoller’s and Yuen Li’s versions) and PLS-GUI 2.01. However, they are no longer available for download and their software developments have been discontinued.
• PLS procedure/module is available for SAS and Coheris SPAD.
• IBM’s SPSS (since version 17) supports limited PLS function (regression but not path modeling) using a free third-party Python plug-in that can be downloaded from SPSS’s Developer Central site fhttp://www.ibm.com/developerworks/spssdevcentralT The path is “Resources -3 IBM SPSS Statistics -> Tools and Utilities -3 Statistical Tools -> spe” A pre-requisite is to have the appropriate version of the Python plugin or Python Essentials installed on your computer, plus the “numpy” and “scipy” Python libraries. You can also download these Python plugin and Python Essentials files in the above site, under the “Tools and Utilities” section.

5. Reference Journal Papers

There are many great journal articles on PLS-SEM, please refer to the “References” section at the end of this book for a full list of publications. If you want to see how PLS-SEM can be applied in retail research, you can have a good read of the following article that was published in a tier-1 journal. I wrote it together with Professor Osmud Rahman and Professor Hong Yu when I was teaching at Ryerson University:

Rahman, O., Wong, K.K., and Yu, H., (2016) The effects of mall personality and fashion orientation on shopping value and mall patronage intention. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 28 (1), 155-164. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.09.008

The field of PLS-SEM has advanced significantly in recent years with new insights and guidelines from scholars. The following journal article, written by Professor Dr. Jorg Henseler, Professor Geoffrey Hubona, and Professor Pauline Ash Ray, is a great one that summarizes the modern view on PLS path modeling as compared to the traditional ones:

Hensler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P.-A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2-20.

Finally, it is important to remember that there is no “perfect” statistical method on this planet that can handle all kinds of research designs and data. PLS, as an emerging variance-based SEM method, certainly has its strengths and weaknesses. Unlike those CB-SEM methods that have been used widely for decades, PLS-SEM is still relatively new to many researchers and it is not uncommon to see scholars hold different views on this research method. In fact, constructive criticism and debates are great ways to advance a new research method to the next level through better understanding of its capabilities and limitations. Readers are encouraged to review the following article written by Professor Mikko Ronkko and Professor Joerg Evermann who criticized PLS-SEM, and the rejoinder provided Professor Dr. Jorg Henseler and his team:

Ronkko, M., Eveimann, J. (2013). A critical examination of common beliefs about partial least squares path modeling. Organizational Research Methods, 16(3), 425-448. DOI:10.1177/1094428112474693

Henseler, J., Dijkstra, T. K., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., Diamantopoulos, A., Straub, D. W., … Calantone, R. J. (2014). Common Beliefs and Reality About PLS: Comments on Ronnkko and Evermann (2013). Organizational Research Methods, 17(2), 182-209. DOI:10.1177/1094428114526928

Source: Ken Kwong-Kay Wong (2019), Mastering Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (Pls-Sem) with Smartpls in 38 Hours, iUniverse.