Multigroup

Analysis

2012 Jrg Henseler & Christian M. Ringle

The need for multi-
group analysis

Heterogeneity among observational units may lead to

incapability to describe a phenomenon of interest.

Neglecting group effects may limit the relevance of

research.

Analyzing group differences can reveal interesting

findings.

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The need for multi-
group analysis

Key questions:

How can we know whether a difference in parameters

between groups is significant?

How can we calculate the probability of a group difference

between two population groups?

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Measurement Invariance

Testing differences

o in path coefficients

o across groups

requires that the latent variables are created in

the same way for all groups.

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Three levels of measurement invariance

Scalar Invariance

Metric Invariance

Configural Invariance

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Configural invariance

For all groups, the same indicators are used.

(in case of CBSEM: the same loadings are
constrained/free)
Counterexample:
x1 x4 x6 y

model of group 1:

x2 x3 x5 y

model of group 2:

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Metric invariance

Metric invariance:
o All factor loadings for like items are invariant across groups.
Partial metric invariance:
o Many factor loadings for like items are invariant across
groups.

Partial metric invariance is often the highest stage of

measurement invariance that one can obtain.
Partial metric invariance is most often sufficient for group
comparisons.

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