Partial Least Squares (PLS) Methods: Origins, Evolution, and Application to Social Sciences

This article attempts to clarify some of the existing doubts about PLS methods and in an integrative capacity, allow them to be better understood. The historical evolution included here starts by describing the prior knowledge which led the originator of partial least squares (PLS), the Swedish professor Herman Wold, to develop PLS techniques. Next, the emergence of PLS Regression is described. After that, the parallel development of PLS-Path Modeling, the PLS approach for structural equation modeling, is presented. Lastly, the different algorithms and software are listed and a description is given of how PLS-Path Modeling has been implemented in social sciences.