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Scientific realism, the necessity of causal contact in measurement and emergent variables
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Cadogan, John W. and Lee, Nick (2023) Scientific realism, the necessity of causal contact in measurement and emergent variables. European Journal of Marketing, 57 (6). pp. 1758-1779. doi:10.1108/EJM-06-2021-0454 ISSN 0309-0566.
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WRAP-Scientific-realism-necessity-causal-contact-measurement-emergent-22.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0. Download (1083Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-06-2021-0454
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to correct errors in, and comment on the claims made in the comment papers of Rigdon (2022) and Henseler and Schuberth (2022), and to tidy up any substantive oversights made in Cadogan and Lee (2022).
Design/methodology/approach
The study discusses and clarifies the gap between Rigdon’s notion of scientific realism and the metaphysical, semantic and epistemological commitments that are broadly agreed to be key principles of scientific realism. The study also examines the ontological status of the variables that Henseler and Schuberth claim are emergent using emergence logic grounded in the notion that variables are only truly emergent if they demonstrate a failure of generative atomism.
Findings
In scientific realism, hypothetical causal contact between the unobserved and the observed is a key foundational stance, and as such, Rigdon’s concept proxy framework (CPF) is inherently anti-realist in nature. Furthermore, Henseler and Schuberth’s suggestion that composite-creating statistical packages [such as partial least squares (PLS)] can model emergent variables should be treated with skepticism by realists.
Research limitations/implications
Claims made by Rigdon regarding the realism of CPF are unfounded, and claims by Henseler and Schuberth regarding the universal suitability of partial least squares (PLS) as a tool for use by researchers of all ontological stripes (see their Table 5) do not appear to be well-grounded.
Practical implications
Those aspiring to do science according to the precepts of scientific realism need to be careful in assessing claims in the literature. For instance, despite Rigdon’s assertion that CPF is a realist framework, we show that it is not. Consequently, some of Rigdon’s core criticisms of the common factor logic make no sense for the realist. Likewise, if the variables resulting from composite creating statistical packages (like PLS) are not really emergent (contrary to Henseler and Schuberth) and so are not real, their utility as tools for scientific realist inquiry are called into question.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) Q Science > Q Science (General) Q Science > QA Mathematics Q Science > QC Physics |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Realism, Science -- Philosophy, Causality (Physics), Least squares | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | European Journal of Marketing | ||||||||
Publisher: | Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0309-0566 | ||||||||
Official Date: | May 2023 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 57 | ||||||||
Number: | 6 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 1758-1779 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1108/EJM-06-2021-0454 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | This paper was accepted for publication in the journal European Journal of Marketing and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-06-2021-0454. This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com. | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 5 September 2022 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 5 September 2022 |
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