Using WarpPLS in E-collaboration Studies: An Overview of Five Main Analysis Steps

Most relationships between variables describing natural and behavioral phenomena are nonlinear, with U-curve and S-curve relationships being particularly common. Yet, structural equation modeling software tools do not estimate coefficients of association taking nonlinear relationships between latent variables into consideration. This can lead to misleading results, particularly in multivariate and complex phenomena like those related to e-collaboration. One notable exception is WarpPLS (available from: warppls.com), a new structural equation modeling software currently available in its first release. The discussion presented in this paper contributes to the literature on e-collaboration research methods by providing a description of the main features of WarpPLS in the context of an e-collaboration study. The focus of this discussion is on the software's features and their use and not on e-collaboration study itself. Particular emphasis is placed on the five steps through which a structural equation modeling analysis is conducted through WarpPLS.