4. THE LATENT VARIABLE MODEL (MIMIC)
In order to investigate the relationship between attitudinal questions and four motivational
constructs, Cronbach’s alpha has been first calcuated under different combinations. However,
no desirable results have been obtained, with the highest value of around 0.5. Therefore, a
structural equation model (SEM) was constructed by considering the error tems. Note that all
demographics data and answers to the attitudinal questions are used as causes and indicators
in the SEM, with the properties connected to the four motivational constructs. In addtion, as
an important special case of the SEM, the multiple-indicators multiple-causes (MIMIC)
model is used to construct the latent (unobserved) variables postulated to be important for the
choice model of purchase intention.