Toward equation structural modeling: an integration of interpretive structural modeling and structural equation modeling

Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is an interactive process in which a malformed (bad structured) problem is structured into a comprehensive systematic model. Yet, despite many advantages that ISM provides, this method has some shortcomings, the most important one of which is its reliance on participants' intuition and judgment. This problem undermines the validity of ISM. To solve this problem and further enhance the ISM method, the present study proposes a method called equation structural modeling (ESM), which draws on the capacities of structural equation modeling (SEM). As such, ESM provides a statistically verifiable framework and provides a graphical, hierarchical and intuitive model.