The Effect Of Digital Competence, Performance Expectancy, And Facilitating Conditions On Digital Economic Empowerment: The Role Of Transformative Capacity As An Intervening Variable On Business Actors In Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, And Medan

Abstract

The use of digital technology in economic activities has continued to increase, but its utilization does not necessarily generate economic benefits directly. This study aims to examine the effects of digital competence, performance expectations, and facilitating conditions on digital economic empowerment, with transformative capacity as an intervening variable. The study employed a quantitative approach using secondary data from the Digital Transformation Adoption, Social Resilience, and Community Empowerment Outcomes in Post-Pandemic Indonesia dataset, consisting of 544 observations. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS. The results show that digital competence has a positive and significant effect on transformative capacity (β = 0.245; p = 0.001), whereas performance expectancy has no significant effect (β = 0.044; p = 0.530). Facilitating conditions have a positive and significant effect on transformative capacity (β = 0.165; p = 0.038), while transformative capacity has a positive and significant effect on digital economic empowerment (β = 0.424; p < 0.001). Regarding the direct effects on digital economic empowerment, performance expectancy has a significant effect (β = 0.154; p = 0.019), whereas digital competence (β = 0.042; p = 0.554) and facilitating conditions (β = 0.085; p = 0.251) do not have significant effects. The indirect effect analysis indicates that transformative capacity mediates the relationship between digital competence and digital economic empowerment (β = 0.104; p = 0.002) and between facilitating conditions and digital economic empowerment (β = 0.070; p = 0.046), but does not mediate the relationship between performance expectations and digital economic empowerment (β = 0.019; p = 0.531). These findings indicate that the economic benefits of digitalization are more evident when technology utilization is accompanied by the capacity to make changes in business or community activities.