This book goes into a detailed investigation of adapting artificial neural network (ANN) and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques in marketing and consumer research. The aim of using a dual-stage SEM and ANN approach is to obtain linear and non-compensated relationships because the ANN method captures non-compensated relationships based on the black box technology of artificial intelligence. Hence, the ANN approach validates the results of the SEM method. In addition, such the novel emerging approach increases the validity of the prediction by determining the importance of the variables. Consequently, the number of studies using SEM-ANN has increased, but the different types of study cases that show customization of different processes in ANNs method combination with SEM are still unknown, and this aspect will be affecting to the generation results. Thus, there is a need for further investigation in marketing and consumer research. This book bridges the significant gap in this research area. The adoption of SEM and ANN techniques in social commerce and consumer research is massive all over the world. Such an expansion has generated more need to learn how to capture linear and non-compensatory relationships in such area. This book would be a valuable reading companion mainly for business and management students in higher academic organizations, professionals, policy-makers, and planners in the field of marketing. This book would also be appreciated by researchers who are keenly interested in social commerce and consumer research.

The field of marketing and management has undergone immense changes over the past decade. These dynamic changes are driving an increasing need for data analysis using quantitative modelling. Problem solving using the quantitative approach and other models has always been a hot topic in the fields of marketing and management. Quantitative modelling seems admirably suited to help managers in their strategic decision making on operations management issues. In social sciences, quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques.The first edition of 'Quantitative Modelling in Marketing and Management' focused on the description and applications of many quantitative modelling approaches applied to marketing and management. The topics ranged from fuzzy logic and logical discriminant models to growth models and k-clique models.The second edition follows the thread of the first one by covering a myriad of techniques and applications in the areas of statistical, computer, mathematical as well as other novel nomothetic methods. It greatly reinforces the areas of computer, mathematical and other modeling tools that are designed to bring a level of awareness and knowledge among academics and researchers in marketing and management, so that there is an increase in the application of these new approaches that will be embedded in future scholarly output.

It examines how to research customer satisfaction from both a client and a supplier perspective, and how to get the best results from that research.

This compact reference surveys the full range of available structural equation modeling (SEM) methodologies. It reviews applications in a broad range of disciplines, particularly in the social sciences where many key concepts are not directly observable. This is the first book to present SEM’s development in its proper historical context–essential to understanding the application, strengths and weaknesses of each particular method. This book also surveys the emerging path and network approaches that complement and enhance SEM, and that will grow importance in the near future. SEM’s ability to accommodate unobservable theory constructs through latent variables is of significant importance to social scientists. Latent variable theory and application are comprehensively explained and methods are presented for extending their power, including guidelines for data preparation, sample size calculation and the special treatment of Likert scale data. Tables of software, methodologies and fit statistics provide a concise reference for any research program, helping assure that its conclusions are defensible and publishable.

This book is a collection of selected papers presented at the 17th FAI International Conference on Engineering, Mathematical and Computational Intelligence (ICEMCI 2019), held at Jabalpur Engineering College, India, from 21–23 December 2019. This book discusses mathematical, computational intelligence and engineering approaches for tourism, agriculture and health care. It is a unique combination of a wide spectrum of topics, such as tourism destination ranking, medical diagnosis-based intelligent systems, drivers for hotel objectives, irrigation systems and more, which are discussed by using fuzzy, statistical and neural network tools. This book will be valuable to faculty members, postgraduate students, research scholars as well as readers from the industrial sector.

Developed by the authors, generalized structured component analysis is an alternative to two longstanding approaches to structural equation modeling: covariance structure analysis and partial least squares path modeling. Generalized structured component analysis allows researchers to evaluate the adequacy of a model as a whole, compare a model to alternative specifications, and conduct complex analyses in a straightforward manner. Generalized Structured Component Analysis: A Component-Based Approach to Structural Equation Modeling provides a detailed account of this novel statistical methodology and its various extensions. The authors present the theoretical underpinnings of generalized structured component analysis and demonstrate how it can be applied to various empirical examples. The book enables quantitative methodologists, applied researchers, and practitioners to grasp the basic concepts behind this new approach and apply it to their own research. The book emphasizes conceptual discussions throughout while relegating more technical intricacies to the chapter appendices. Most chapters compare generalized structured component analysis to partial least squares path modeling to show how the two component-based approaches differ when addressing an identical issue. The authors also offer a free, online software program (GeSCA) and an Excel-based software program (XLSTAT) for implementing the basic features of generalized structured component analysis.

In today’s modernized market, various disciplines continue to search for universally functional technologies that improve upon traditional processes. Artificial neural networks are a set of statistical modeling tools that are capable of processing nonlinear data with strong accuracy. Due to their complexity, utilizing their potential was previously seen as a challenge. However, with the development of artificial intelligence, this technology has proven to be an effective and efficient problem-solving method. Artificial Neural Network Applications in Business and Engineering is an essential reference source that illustrates recent advancements of artificial neural networks in various professional fields, accompanied by specific case studies and practical examples. Featuring research on topics such as training algorithms, transportation, and computer security, this book is ideally designed for researchers, students, developers, managers, engineers, academicians, industrialists, policymakers, and educators seeking coverage on modern trends in artificial neural networks and their real-world implementations.

Making statistics—and statistical software—accessible and rewarding This book provides readers with step-by-step guidance on running a wide variety of statistical analyses in IBM® SPSS® Statistics, Stata, and other programs. Author David Kremelberg begins his user-friendly text by covering charts and graphs through regression, time-series analysis, and factor analysis. He provides a background of the method, then explains how to run these tests in IBM SPSS and Stata. He then progresses to more advanced kinds of statistics such as HLM and SEM, where he describes the tests and explains how to run these tests in their appropriate software including HLM and AMOS. This is an invaluable guide for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students across the social and behavioral sciences who need assistance in understanding the various statistical packages.

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is a statistical approach to testing hypothesis about the relationships among observed and latent variables. The use of SEM in research has increased in psychology, sociology, and economics in recent years. In particular educational researchers try to obtain the complete image of the process of education through the measurement of personality differences, learning environment, motivation levels and host of other variables that affect the teaching and learning process. With the use of survey instruments and interviews with students, teachers and other stakeholders as a lens, educators can assess and gain valuable information about the social ecology of the classrooms that could help in improving the instructional approach, classroom management and the learning organizations. A considerable number of research have been conducted to identify the factors and interactions between students’ characteristics, personal preferences, affective traits, study skills, and various other factors that could help in better educational performance. In recent years, educational researchers use Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as a statistical technique to explore the complex and dynamic nature of interactions in educational research and practice. SEM is becoming a powerful analytical tool and making methodological advances in multivariate analysis. This book presents the collective works on concepts, methodologies and applications of SEM in educational research and practice. The anthology of current research described in this book will be a valuable resource for the next generation educational practitioners.

With the availability of software programs such as LISREL, EQS, and AMOS modeling techniques have become a popular tool for formalized presentation of the hypothesized relationships underlying correlational research and for testing the plausibility of hypothesizing for a particular data set. The popularity of these techniques, however, has often led to misunderstandings of them, particularly by students being exposed to them for the first time. Through the use of careful narrative explanation, Basics of Structural Equation Modeling describes the logic underlying structural equation modeling (SEM) approaches, describes how SEM approaches relate to techniques like regression and factor analysis, analyzes the strengths and shortcomings of SEM as compared to alternative methodologies, and explores the various methodologies for analyzing structural equation data.