Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is an interactive process in which a malformed (bad structured) problem is structured into a comprehensive systematic model. Yet, despite many advantages that ISM provides, this method has some shortcomings, the most important one of which is its reliance on participants’ intuition and judgment. This problem undermines the validity of ISM. To solve this problem and further enhance the ISM method, the present study proposes a method called equation structural modeling (ESM), which draws on the capacities of structural equation modeling (SEM). As such, ESM provides a statistically verifiable framework and provides a graphical, hierarchical and intuitive model.

解释性结构建模 (ISM) 是一个交互过程，其中将畸形（结构不良）问题构建为综合系统模型。然而，尽管 ISM 提供了许多优点，但这种方法也有一些缺点，其中最重要的一个是它依赖于参与者的直觉和判断。这个问题破坏了 ISM 的有效性。为了解决这个问题并进一步增强 ISM 方法，本研究提出了一种称为方程结构建模(ESM) 的方法，它利用了结构方程建模 (SEM) 的能力。因此，ESM 提供了一个统计上可验证的框架，并提供了一个图形化、分层和直观的模型。