Comparative approach on structural equation modeling software applications

Abstract

Structural Equation Model (SEM) has become in one of the most useful tools in causal modeling research, which is commonly implemented in multidisciplinary areas such as business, medicine, etc. In the last years, attention to multivariate analyses has been growing and this may lead the increase of modeling approaches in the scientific literature. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using two different software applications usually employ to assess SEM modeling. We assessed a specific model designed to evaluate career development and factors that influence engineering student’s persistence at three universities from the North of Lima. The first model was measured by Covariance Basic SEM (CB-SEM) approach through AMOS software, while the second model was measured by Partial Least Squares SEM (PLS-SEM) approach through SmartPLS software.