The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Resilience of Food MSMEs: The Role of Innovation and Agility Capabilities in Rokan Hulu Regency
Abstract
Purpose: This study examines the effect of digital transformation on the resilience of food micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Rokan Hulu Regency, with innovation capability and agility as parallel mediators. Methods: The manuscript uses a quantitative explanatory PLS-SEM design with four reflective constructs measured by 24 Likert-scale items. For manuscript-development purposes, the current SmartPLS 4 output is based on
348 synthetic cases and 5,000 bootstrap resamples. The results indicate positive and significant paths from digital transformation to innovation capability (β = .538), agility (β = .602), and resilience (β = .183), as well as from innovation capability (β = .341) and agility (β = .368) to resilience. Both indirect effects are significant, through innovation capability (β = .184) and agility (β = .222), while the model explains 51.8% of the variance in resilience. Measurement quality is satisfactory, with outer loadings of .830–.878, AVE of .710–.747, and HTMT below .653. Implications: The pattern suggests that affordable digital practices become more consequential for resilience when they are converted into innovation routines and rapid response capabilities. The study proposes a capability-oriented agenda for food MSME assistance in Rokan Hulu while explicitly requiring confirmation with actual field data before publication.
References
Awad, J. A. R., & Martín-Rojas, R. (2024). Digital transformation influence on organisational resilience through organisational learning and innovation. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 13, 69.
Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Rokan Hulu. (2026). Kabupaten Rokan Hulu dalam angka 2026 (Publikasi No. 14070.26002; Katalog 1102001.1407).
Badan Pusat Statistik Provinsi Riau. (2025). Profil industri mikro dan kecil Provinsi Riau 2024 (Publikasi No. 14000.25052; Katalog 6104006.14).
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Duchek, S. (2020). Organizational resilience: A capability-based conceptualization. Business Research, 13(1), 215–246.
Garrido-Moreno, A., Martín-Rojas, R., & García-Morales, V. J. (2024). The key role of innovation and organizational resilience in improving business performance: A mixed-methods approach. International Journal of Information Management, 77, 102777.
Hair, J. F., Jr., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Hillmann, J., & Guenther, E. (2021). Organizational resilience: A valuable construct for management research? International Journal of Management Reviews, 23(1), 7–44.
Iftikhar, A., Purvis, L., & Giannoccaro, I. (2021). A meta-analytical review of antecedents and outcomes of firm resilience. Journal of Business Research, 135, 408–425.
Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., & Ghura, A. S. (2022). SMEs and digital transformation during a crisis: The emergence of resilience as a second-order dynamic capability in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Journal of Business Research, 150, 623–641.
Kraus, S., Durst, S., Ferreira, J. J., Veiga, P., Kailer, N., & Weinmann, A. (2022). Digital transformation in business and management research: An overview of the current status quo. International Journal of Information Management, 63, 102466.
Martín-Rojas, R., Garrido-Moreno, A., & García-Morales, V. J. (2023). Social media use, corporate entrepreneurship and organizational resilience: A recipe for SMEs success in a post-Covid scenario. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 190, 122421.
Matarazzo, M., Penco, L., Profumo, G., & Quaglia, R. (2021). Digital transformation and customer value creation in Made in Italy SMEs: A dynamic capabilities perspective. Journal of Business Research, 123, 642–656.
Morris, J., Morris, W., & Bowen, R. (2022). Implications of the digital divide on rural SME resilience. Journal of Rural Studies, 89, 369–377.
Nasiri, M., Saunila, M., Ukko, J., Rantala, T., & Rantanen, H. (2023). Shaping digital innovation via digital-related capabilities. Information Systems Frontiers, 25(3), 1063–1080.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2021). The digital transformation of SMEs. OECD Publishing.
Paziah, Z., Fahrurrozi, M., & Aini, Q. (2026). How digital capabilities drive SME performance: The mediating role of business innovation and the moderating role of resilience. Al-Kharaj: Journal of Islamic Economic and Business, 8(2).
Pelletier, C., L’Écuyer, F., & Raymond, L. (2025). Building organizational agility through digital transformation: A configurational approach in SMEs. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 125(4), 1503–1529.
Ragmoun, W. (2023). IT capabilities, strategic flexibility and organizational resilience in SMEs post-COVID-19: A mediating and moderating role of big data analytics capabilities. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 24(1), 123–142.
Ringle, C. M., Wende, S., & Becker, J.-M. (2024). SmartPLS 4 [Computer software]. SmartPLS GmbH.
Sagala, G. H., & Őri, D. (2025). Exploring digital transformation strategy to achieve SMEs resilience and antifragility: A systematic literature review. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 37(3), 495–524.
Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Hair, J. F. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In C. Homburg, M. Klarmann, & A. Vomberg (Eds.), Handbook of market research (pp. 587–632). Springer.
Su, W., & Junge, S. (2023). Unlocking the recipe for organizational resilience: A review and future research directions. European Management Journal, 41(6), 1086–1105.
Teece, D. J. (2018). Business models and dynamic capabilities. Long Range Planning, 51(1), 40–49.
Troise, C., Corvello, V., Ghobadian, A., & O’Regan, N. (2022). How can SMEs successfully navigate VUCA environment: The role of agility in the digital transformation era. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174, 121227.
Trieu, H. D. X., Nguyen, P. V., Nguyen, T. T. M., Vu, H. M., & Tran, K. (2023). Information technology capabilities and organizational ambidexterity facilitating organizational resilience and firm performance of SMEs. Asia Pacific Management Review, 28(4), 544–555.
Verhoef, P. C., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., Bhattacharya, A., Dong, J. Q., Fabian, N., & Haenlein, M. (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 122, 889–901.
Walter, A.-T. (2021). Organizational agility: Ill-defined and somewhat confusing? A systematic literature review and conceptualization. Management Review Quarterly, 71(2), 343–391.
Zhang, J., Li, H., & Zhao, H. (2025). The impact of digital transformation on organizational resilience: The role of innovation capability and agile response. Systems, 13(2), 75.





.png)















Contact Person +6282139474255
Email : ijebir@citakonsultindo.or.id / editor.ijebir@gmail.com