Purpose and applicability
Are the five customer-experience constructs empirically distinct?
Prerequisites
- Use an eligible multi-item reflective measurement model
Do not use it merely because it is available
Use HTMT / HTMT+ only when its estimand, data roles and assumptions answer the stated research question. Choose a related estimator or diagnostic when the intended outcome is not among the documented outputs below.
Study preparation
- Teaching data
- customer-experience-pls.csv
- Observations
- 400
- Study type
- Deterministic synthetic teaching study
- Calculate route
- Calculate → PLS-SEM Algorithm → Results → HTMT+ and HTMT — original signed correlations
Open the data dictionary and variable-role reference
Model
Quality (quality_1–quality_4), Value (value_1–value_3), Trust (trust_1–trust_4), Satisfaction (satisfaction_1–satisfaction_4), and Loyalty (loyalty_1–loyalty_4), all reflective
Quality, Value, and Trust → Satisfaction; Quality, Value, and Trust → Loyalty. This direct-effects teaching model deliberately leaves indirect-path analysis to the separate Mediation tutorial
Exact workflow
Download customer-experience-pls.csv and the prepared customer-experience-pls.qpls project. Keep both files in a writable study folder.
Start QuickPLS, choose Open Project, and open the prepared project. Its saved model is already arranged and fitted.
Open Data and confirm that the study contains 400 observations. Return to the model or calculation workspace.
Confirm the saved model specification: Quality (quality_1–quality_4), Value (value_1–value_3), Trust (trust_1–trust_4), Satisfaction (satisfaction_1–satisfaction_4), and Loyalty (loyalty_1–loyalty_4), all reflective. Structural specification: Quality, Value, and Trust → Satisfaction; Quality, Value, and Trust → Loyalty. This direct-effects teaching model deliberately leaves indirect-path analysis to the separate Mediation tutorial.
Confirm that construct labels, indicators, and arrows are readable. The supplied project is saved after Arrange and Fit; do not rearrange it before the tutorial run.
Choose Calculate, then use Calculate → PLS-SEM Algorithm → Results → HTMT+ and HTMT — original signed correlations.
Review the essential settings listed below. Open Advanced settings only when the design requires a non-default option.
Resolve actionable blockers, review applicability warnings, and leave Open Results when finished selected.
Choose Start calculation. Wait for Completed, then confirm that Results opens for this method.
Inspect the named outputs below in order. Use Save Report, table Copy, or Export as required, then save and reopen the project to confirm the result remains available.
Essential and advanced settings
- Use the ordinary PLS point-estimate settings; the qualified PLS result contains both HTMT point matrices
Keep other advanced controls at their documented defaults unless the study design requires a justified change. Record every non-default value in the research log.
Results to inspect
- HTMT+ matrix
- Original signed HTMT matrix
- Heatmaps
Interpretation guidance
For HTMT / HTMT+, interpret the listed outputs together with the prerequisite result, the selected settings, model assumptions and data quality. The supplied values are instructional; they are not validation against an external paper or another software package.
- Formative and single-indicator pairs are not applicable and appear as N/A.
- The 2.62.8 tutorial verifies point matrices in the qualified PLS result and does not claim successful standalone HTMT bootstrap-result publication.
Reporting guidance
Report the QuickPLS version, HTMT / HTMT+ route, sample size, model or variable roles, preprocessing, essential settings, non-default advanced settings, and the named primary outputs. Retain the project, data checksum and exported table used in the manuscript.
Common mistakes and recovery
- Running the method before completing its prerequisite calculation.
- Changing the data, model or variable roles after the prerequisite result was saved.
- Treating an unavailable or not-applicable value as zero.
- Reporting an estimate without its method-appropriate uncertainty or diagnostic context.
Screen-by-screen evidence
Images shown here are mapped to this tutorial’s required installed-application evidence. Missing captures are labelled explicitly and are not replaced with generic screenshots.