EXPLAINING BUSINESS PERFORMANCE ENABLERS IN THE NEW WORLD OF DIGITAL BUSINESS

Abstract

Digital business will change how people manage and conduct their business and market business products to a broader market level, even internationally, faster and cheaper. Following previous studies, the factors that cause the implementation of digital business are less well received by some small entrepreneurs due to cost, location, and productivity factors. This study aimed to identify the relationship between factors influencing digital business performance among small business entrepreneurs in the State of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. These factors include attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and digital competencies. The second is to examine the mediating effect of digital competencies. The study used cluster sampling to select respondents for this study. A total of 227 entrepreneurs were accepted as final respondents for the study. The study format was a questionnaire using an online method. The data collected were processed using SPSS and AMOS. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to form the proposed model. Four variables, namely attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and digital competencies, were found to have positive and significant relationships with performance. Digital competencies were found to mediate the proposed relationships partially. This discovery is expected to help small entrepreneurs leverage the use of digital technology to increase business profits and use it to compete in the digital economic environment, as well as to assist government agencies in helping in the form of training and infrastructure appropriate to the needs of entrepreneurs.