Inductive reasoning aims at developing a theory (theory building). Inductive moves from specific observations to broad generalizations  

Deductive reasoning aims at testing an existing theory. Deductive moves from theory (generalization) to specific observations. 

Abductive reasoning adopts a pragmatist perspective to overcome weaknesses in the inductive and deductive approaches. The researcher moves back and forth between the real and theoretical worlds in order to select the best explanation from competing explanations or interpretations of the data (Bell, Bryman, & Harley, 2018).

Thus, the first question for quantitative research is "what is your underpinning/underlying theory?"

Corley and Gioia (2011)

A statement of concepts and their interrelationships that shows how and/or why a phenomenon occurs.

Lee and Lings (2008)

A set of interrelated concepts or ideas that explain some aspect of the real world.

Zikmund et al., (2010)

A theory attempts to explain the logical linkage between the concepts/constructs in a research model, and how they affect with one another. 

Creswell (2009)

Theory is an interrelated set of constructs formed into propositions or hypotheses that specify the relationship among variables. 

Hair et al., (2014)

Theory is a systematic set of relationships providing a consistent and comprehensive explanation of phenomena. 

Business Dictionary

Theory is a set of assumptions, propositions or accepted facts that attempt to provide a rational explanation of cause and effects (causal) relationships among groups of the observed phenomenon. 

Theory contains four essential elements (Whetten, 1989): 

1. What – the factors in the theory.

2. How – how the factors are related. 

3. Why – why the factors are related. 

4. Who, where, when – which represent the boundary conditions.

1. Help to classify things: entities, processes, and causal relationships.

2. Help to understand how & why things are occurred.

3. Help to predict as yet unobserved relationships.

4. Help to explain behavior. 

5. Guide research in useful directions.

6. Functions as explanations, descriptions or predictions about phenomenon particular to a conceptual model

7. Acts as a bridge between or among the variables. 

8. Support hypotheses development. 

The Roles of Theory in SEM

A researcher must begins specifying a theoretical model based on a theory/theories. 

CB-SEM is strictly theory driven (Hair et al., 2010)

A model should not be developed without some underlying theories (Hair et al., 2010).

PLS-SEM is also based on some theoretical foundations, but its goal is to predict the relationship among constructs, to explore the underlying theoretical concept, and to develop the theory.

Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Please click here to grab the current development of the TPB.

1991

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Click here.

Resource-based View (Barney, 1991)

C-TAM-TPB (Taylor & Todd, 1995) 

Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) ( Venkatesh et al., 2003)

Stimulus-Organism-Response (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974)

Theoretical Framework

Theoretical Framework is a theory in the form of a model/paradigm that serves as the basis for the study. It mentions the proponents of the study and their results.

Theoretical framework in a study is based on an existing theory or theories (e.g., a theory of motivation). It is a collection of interrelated concepts that can hold or support a theory of a research work and guide a research.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework is the researcher’s own model illustrating variables that specify the problem & gives direction to the study. It may be an adoption of a model in an early theory, with modifications to suit the inquiry. Therefore, conceptual model is developed by the researcher based on theory/theories.

Characteristics of a Good Conceptual Scheme

• Important variables must be identified and labeled 

• Explain the relationship between 2 or more variables based on some theory 

• If there are prior research, the relationship, either + or – must be posited 

• Must also be able to explain why such relationship exists 

• A schematic diagram should be presented so that readers can better visualize the relationship 

Explaining Conceptual Framework with Theory/Theories

A researcher must be able to explain his/her conceptual framework with theory/theories because supporting a conceptual framework with theory/theories is compulsory in a quantitative research.

Fellows, R., & Liu, A. M. (2020). Borrowing theories: contextual and empirical considerations. Construction Management and Economics, 38(7), 581-588. Click here.

Miles, J. A. (2012). Management and organization theory: A Jossey-Bass reader (Vol. 9). John Wiley & Sons. Click here. 

Moeini, M., Simeonova, B., Galliers, R. D., & Wilson, A. (2020). Theory borrowing in IT-rich contexts: Lessons from IS strategy research. Journal of Information Technology, 35(3), 270-282. Click here. 

Varpio, L., Paradis, E., Uijtdehaage, S., & Young, M. (2020). The distinctions between theory, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework. Academic Medicine, 95(7), 989-994. Click here. 

Wilkins, S., Neri, S., & Lean, J. (2019). The role of theory in the business/management PhD: How students may use theory to make an original contribution to knowledge. The International Journal of Management Education, 17(3), 100316. Click here.