A Comparison of Structural Equation Modeling Approaches: The Case of User Acceptance of Information Systems
Structural equation modeling is becoming a more frequently used methodology to address certain research questions posed in information systems research. This paper illustrates the use of three different structural equation models to test the network of variables in an extended technology acceptance model. The techniques we use are path analysis, item level and parcel structure equation modeling. Beyond demonstrating the use of structural equation models, we compare the primary differences among the three approaches and provide guidance to help researchers select the most appropriate approach to use. While each of the three structural equation techniques produces similar structural results, they differ in the degree that they fit the data and the degree of explained variance (R2).