The DOI matches its Crossref record; 96 of the 97 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Fallacy of Formative Measurement
Abstract
In management research, there is a growing trend toward formative measurement, in which measures are treated as causes of constructs. Formative measurement can be contrasted with reflective measurement, in which constructs are specified as causes of measures. Although recent work seems to suggest that formative measurement is a viable alternative to reflective measurement, the emerging enthusiasm for formative measurement is based on conceptions of constructs, measures, and causality that are difficult to defend. This article critically compares reflective and formative measurement on the basis of dimensionality, internal consistency, identification, measurement error, construct validity, and causality. This comparison leads to the conclusion that the presumed viability of formative measurement is a fallacy, and the objectives of formative measurement can be achieved using alternative models with reflective measures.
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“Further, previous attempts to model previous ancillary indexes (i.e., GAI and CPI) on previous editions of the WISC have not yielded compelling evidence that they represent reflective constructs (Edwards 2011).”
From Beyond Primary Assessment on the WISC-V: An Investigation of the Structural Validity of the Ancillary Scores (2025) · cites this paper as Edwards 2011
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Metadata
- Authors
- Edwards, J. R.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Edwards, Jeffrey R.
- ORCID
- Edwards, Jeffrey R.
- Venue
- Organizational Research Methods
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-08-11
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 370-388
- ISSN
- 1094-4281 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7425
- OpenAlex
- W2107306814
- Cited by
- 495
- References
- 97
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 50 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 35.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Organizational Research Methods (publishedVersion)
- Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Management Research
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Accounting and Organizational Management
- Keywords
- formative measurement, reflective measurement, construct measurement, causality, construct validity, measurement error, identification, internal consistency, dimensionality, structural equation modeling, management research
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