A critical look at the use of SEM in international business research

Purpose – Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been widely used to examine complex research models in international business and marketing research. While the covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM) approach is dominant, the authors argue that the field’s dynamic nature and the sometimes early stage of theory development more often require a partial least squares SEM (PLS-SEM) approach. The purpose of this paper is to critically review the application of SEM techniques in the field. Design/methodology/approach – The authors searched six journals with an international business (and marketing) focus ( Management International Review , Journal of International Business Studies , Journal of International Management ,…

• EA
  Economic and Social Research Council

  Award: ES/J013234/1