Effect of Information Capital Readiness on Business Performance in Indonesian MSMEs: Does Online Market Orientation Matter?

Abstract

The focus of this study is to investigate the mediating role of online market orientation on information capital readiness-business performance relationship. The construct of information capital readiness is rarely researched. The readiness here refers to the availability of information capital needed to support strategy execution. As quantitative research, this study employs the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses. Data was collected using questionnaires from the owners/managers of the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the East Java Province, Indonesia. As many as 433 respondents had participated. The result indicates that information capital readiness directly and positively affects business performance. Further analysis reveals that online market orientation partially mediates information capital readiness-business performance relationship. In conclusion, this study suggests that the owners/managers of the MSMEs should improve their information capital readiness to support online market orientation strategy so that it can improve their business performance. This is the first study that brings together the issues of information capital readiness and online market orientation as the antecedents of business performance in the Indonesian MSMEs research setting. The mediating role of online market orientation is rarely explored in previous studies.