Marketing Agility, Market Sensing Capability, and Customer Orientation on SME Performance: The Mediating Role of Product-Service Adaptation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/kharaj.v8i3.12696Keywords:
marketing agility, market sensing capability, customer orientation, product-service adaptation, MSME performanceAbstract
This study aims to analyze the role of Product-Service Adaptation in mediating the effects of Marketing Agility, Market Sensing Capability, and Customer Orientation on the performance of MSMEs in Malang City. The research method employed a quantitative approach using purposive sampling of 108 SME owners or managers, and data analysis was conducted via Partial Least Squares (PLS)-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS. The results indicate that Marketing Agility has a positive and significant effect on SME performance, while Market Sensing Capability and Customer Orientation have positive but insignificant effects on SME performance. Furthermore, Marketing Agility, Market Sensing Capability, and Customer Orientation were found to have a significant effect on Product-Service Adaptation, which in turn has a positive and significant effect on SME performance. Another key finding is that Product-Service Adaptation mediates the effects of Marketing Agility and Market Sensing Capability on SME performance but does not mediate the effect of Customer Orientation. Theoretically, this study strengthens the literature on dynamic capabilities by positioning Product-Service Adaptation as a mediating variable, while practically, it implies that MSME operators should not only rely on market sensing capability and customer orientation but also enhance marketing agility and product-service adaptation to further improve business performance.
References
Agag, G., Yousaf, A., & Adiguzel, F. (2025). Marketing agility and firm performance: The role of customer service performance and co-creation with customers. European Journal of Marketing, 59(11), 2607–2641. DOI: 10.1108/EJM-01-2024-0029
Alghamdi, O., & Agag, G. (2024). Competitive advantage: A longitudinal analysis of the role of data-driven innovation capabilities, marketing agility, and market volatility. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 76, 103547. DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103547
Bekata, A. T., & Kero, C. A. (2025). The effects of customer orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on SME performance: the mediating role of innovation capabilities. A comparative study of methodological moderators. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 14(1), 66.
Budiyanto, Yakin, Nur, & Fatmawati, Indah. (2026). Unveiling the Effects of International Marketing Agility on Business Performance Through Innovation Capability in a Turbulent Market Environment: Why Insights into Mediating and Moderating Roles Matter. PaperASIA, 42. 10.59953/paperasia.v42i3b.875.
Bui, D. L., Trinh, T. H., Nguyen, H. M., & Nguyen, T. D. H. (2026). Market sensing capability and international performance in exporting SMEs: the mediating effects of exploratory and exploitative innovation strategies. Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEAS-07-2025-0479
Christofi, M., Khan, H., Zahoor, N., Hadjielias, E., & Tarba, S. (2023). Digital transformation of MSMEs: The role of entrepreneurial tenacity and dynamic market sensing capabilities. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 71, 13598–13615.
DOI: 10.1109/TEM.2022.3230248
Furyanah, A., Noviyanti, I., & Septiani, F. (2026). Marketing agility and innovation: Boosting performance in the used car market. MIX: Scientific Journal of Management, 16(2), 603–616. https://doi.org/10.22441/jurnal_mix.2026.v16i2.011
Gonu, E., Agyei, P. M., Richard, O. K., & Asare-Larbi, M. (2023). The interaction between customer orientation, service quality, and customer satisfaction in the banking sector: An emerging market perspective. Cogent Business & Management, 10(1), 2163797. DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2022.2163797
Hair, J. F. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Harini, S., Pranitasari, D., Said, M., & Endri, E. (2023). Determinants of MSME performance: Evidence from Indonesia. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 21(1), 471–481.
DOI: 10.21511/ppm.21(1).2023.40
Khoirunnisa, N. L., & Almahendra, R. (2022). Micro-design in hybrid interorganizational governance: A study of product adaptation, reverse knowledge transfer, and integration mechanisms. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(4), 873–894. DOI: 10.1108/JKM-06-2020-0406
Kusumah, I. H., Rahayu, A., Gaffar, V., & Wibowo, L. A. (2026). Market Forces, Dynamic Capabilities, and SME Performance: Testing the Mediating Role of Competitive Strategy in Indonesian Processed Food SMEs. Journal of Logistics, Informatics and Service Science, 13(1), 242–257. https://doi.org/10.33168/JLISS.2026.0113
Larivière, B., Schetgen, L., Bogaert, M., & Van den Poel, D. (2025). Customer experience and coping behavior during a crisis: The role of service adaptation and service transformation. Journal of Business Research, 188, 115089. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115089
Ramadhanti, A. N., Asmin, E. A., & Yulianingsih, Y. (2026). The mediating role of innovation capability: Market orientation and consumer orientation on the success of MSME bag businesses in Ciampea District, Bogor. Jurnal Economina.
Sudarwati, Pujianto, H., Dewi, S. N., Rozaq, M. K. A., & Haryanto, A. T. (2025). Analysis of the antecedents of product innovation capability on marketing performance for the sustainability of Indonesian batik MSMEs: The mediating role of consumer preferences. Multidisciplinary Science Journal.
Sugiyono. (2018). Quantitative, Qualitative, and R&D Research Methods.
Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.
Tjahjana, D., Dwidienawati, D., Ichsan, M., & Gandasari, D. (2026). Driving SME performance: Innovation, digital capability, resilience, and leadership. In Entrepreneurship and Human-Centric Business Strategies for Social and Economic Resilience. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-6415-6_78
Tuominen, S., Reijonen, H., Nagy, G., Buratti, A., & Laukkanen, T. (2023). Customer-centered strategies as drivers of innovation and business growth in international markets. International Marketing Review, 40(3), 479–496. DOI: 10.1108/IMR-09-2020-0215
Wilopo, W., Nuralam, I. P., Said, A., & Dahana, W. D. (2026). Strategic agility, marketing agility, and market-driving capability: a dynamic capability perspective on SME performance in emerging markets. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 18(3), 735–765. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-02-2025-0085
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Wulan Saraswati, Sudarmiatin, Puji Handayati, Naswan Suharsono
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. In line with the license, authors are allowed to share and adapt the material. In addition, the material must be given appropriate credit, provided with a link to the license, and indicated if changes were made. If authors remix, transform or build upon the material, authors must distribute their contributions under the same license as the original.
