Digital Marketing Capability and MSME Business Resilience: The Mediating Role of Business Adaptability and The Moderating Role of Digital Literacy

Pefriyadi Pefriyadi; Ade Tiara Yulinda; Reni Indriani; Ermy Wijaya

doi:10.61255/jeemba.v4i6.1904

Authors

Pefriyadi Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup, Indonesia
Ade Tiara Yulinda Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, Indonesia
Reni Indriani Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, Indonesia
Ermy Wijaya Universitas Dehasen, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61255/jeemba.v4i6.1904

Keywords:

Digital Marketing Capability, Business Adaptability, Business Resilience, Digital Literacy, MSMEs

Abstract

Purpose – This study examines the relationship between digital marketing capability (DMC) and business resilience (BR) among MSMEs in Indonesia, focusing on business adaptability (BA) as a mediating mechanism and managerial digital literacy (DL) as an individual-level moderating condition.

Design/methodology/approach – Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 500 owners or managers representing digitally engaged MSMEs across Indonesia. The sampling was non-probability purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Procedural remedies and full collinearity VIF diagnostics were applied to address common method variance concerns.

Finding/Results – DMC is positively associated with BR, BA, and BR. BA acts as a complementary mediator in the DMC–BR relationship. Furthermore, managerial DL significantly moderates the DMC–BA association, indicating that the relationship between DMC and BA is stronger at higher levels of owner/manager digital literacy. The observed empirical pattern is consistent with a moderated adaptive pathway, wherein the indirect association between DMC and BR through BA increases across levels of managerial DL.

Originality/Value – The study integrates an organizational capability perspective with an individual managerial micro-foundation. By explicitly distinguishing individual-level managerial literacy from firm-level capabilities, this study provides a theoretically bounded explanation of how marketing capabilities are transformed into adaptive routines and business resilience in resource-constrained MSMEs.

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