Moderator only

[rebeccachan1111]

Hi I am running a model with moderating effect. To make it simple, the model hypothesizes A influences B, A -> B. I have a moderator C. I have run a path C->B, which is not significant. I would like to see if C is a standalone moderator to the relationship A ->B. In the SmartPls setting, I must first create a path from C -> B before I can select C as a moderator in the moderating effect screen (otherwise it does not show up for choice). However this is not the model I want to run (I need C as just a moderator not both an IV and moderator). How can I address this?

[jmbecker]

If an interaction term (e.g., A·C) is in the model, it is indispensable to always include all simple effects (A->B and C->B) in the model. Excluding simple effects will bias all other estimates in an interaction model. This is a general requirement of moderating models. Thus, SmartPLS does not allow a model without (A->B or C->B). The statistical model would just be wrong without that.