On the Emancipation of PLS-SEM : A Commentary on Rigdon (2012)

Rigdon’s (2012) thoughtful article argues that PLS-SEM should free itself from CB-SEM. It should renounce all mechanisms, frameworks, and jargon associated with factor models entirely. In this comment, we shed further light on two subject areas on which Rigdon (2012) touches in his discussion of CB-SEM and PLS-SEM. Rigdon (2012) highlights ways to make better use of PLS-SEM’s predictive capabilities, for example, by reverting to set correlations. We discuss this issue in more detail, highlighting the need to examine the predictive capabilities of models when developing and testing theories, and broach the issue of confirmatory versus exploratory modeling. As a result of our discussion, we call for the continuous improvement of the PLS-SEM method to uncover its capabilities for theory testing while retaining its predictive character