From Sustainable Business Model Innovation to Firm Performance: The Sequential Mediating Roles of Digital Marketing Capability and Competitive Advantage
Keywords:
Sustainable Business Model Innovation; Digital Marketing Capability; Competitive Advantage; Firm Performance; SMEsAbstract
Sustainability pressures and digitalization are changing how small firms create value, yet the way sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) translates into firm performance is still not well understood. This study examined the effect of SBMI on firm performance with digital marketing capability (DMC) and competitive advantage (CA) as sequential mediators. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 150 owners and managers of creative economy small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, selected through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). SBMI had a strong positive effect on DMC (β = 0.765) and a positive direct effect on firm performance (β = 0.596). DMC also improved firm performance (β = 0.386) and partially mediated the SBMI-performance relationship (indirect effect = 0.295). The findings indicate that sustainability-oriented innovation is more likely to raise performance when it is supported by digital marketing capability. Managers of creative SMEs should therefore build sustainability values into their digital marketing practice rather than treat the two as separate initiatives.
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