PLS-SEM or CB-SEM Method for Customer Loyalty Towards Mobile Service Providers Data
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37134/ejsmt.vol12.sp.12.2025Keywords:
PLS-SEM, CB-SEM, customer loyalty, telecommunications, construct validityAbstract
This study compares two commonly used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methods—Partial Least Squares SEM (PLS-SEM) and Covariance-Based SEM (CB-SEM)—to assess customer loyalty data in the telecommunications industry. The comparison was conducted using a dataset of 448 mobile service users in Melaka, where service providers have faced challenges in meeting performance standards. Findings reveal that PLS-SEM outperforms CB-SEM in terms of Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and Composite Reliability (CR), with AVE values exceeding 0.68 compared to CB-SEM's 0.58, and CR values above 0.89 compared to CB-SEM's 0.84. These results highlight PLS-SEM’s superior construct reliability and validity, particularly for complex models and smaller sample sizes. This study provides valuable insights into selecting appropriate SEM techniques for customer loyalty research.
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