Partial Least Square Approach to Second Order Factor in Behavioural Study of Accounting Information System

Abstract

Theories are developed to explain an observed phenomenon in an effort to understand why and how things happen. Theories thus, use latent variables to estimate conceptual parameters. The level of abstraction depends, partly on the complexity of the theoretical model explaining the phenomenon. The conjugation of directly-measured variables leads to a formation of a first-order factor. A combination of theoretical underpinnings supporting an existence of a higher-order components, and statistical evidence pointing to such presence adds advantage for the researchers to investigate a phenomenon both at an aggregated and disjointed dimensions. As partial least square (PLS) gains its tractions in theory development, behavioural accounting discipline in general should exploit the flexibility of PLS to work with the higher-order factors. However, technical guides are scarcely available. Therefore, this article presents a PLS approach to validate a higher-order factor on a statistical ground using accounting information system dataset.

Keywords

• Second-order factor
• partial least square
• PLS