Determinants of Digital Competence Development Among Agricultural MSMEs for Business Sustainability: A Case Study of Lombok Island, Indonesia

MSMEs in West Nusa Tenggara Province are currently experiencing a consistently positive growth trend each year. However, the increase in the number of MSME actors cannot be separated from various issues such as the development of digital technology, which has not yet been fully utilized and is still less active in using digital technology in their business activities. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study on what internal and external factors influence the development of digital competence among agricultural MSME actors on Lombok Island, and how digital competence influences business sustainability. The research method used is a mixed methods approach (quantitative and qualitative), utilizing both primary and secondary data collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews with 211 MSME actors in the agricultural sector, focusing on agricultural product processing. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using SEM SmartPLS 4.0. The study results indicate that digital competence is affected by internal factors such as demographics, motivation, perception, and creativity, while external factors include customer purchasing behaviour, government support, and the quality of mentoring. Both internal and external factors have a significant contribution to enhancing digital competence. Meanwhile, digital competence has a very strong effect on business sustainability, meaning that an increase in digital competence can significantly enhance the level of business sustainability. However, more specific studies are still needed, such as the influence of social and cultural factors in adopting digital technology by MSMEs in the agricultural sector on Lombok Island. Keywords: Digital technology, e-commerce, digital competence, Agricultural MSMEs, business sustainability, marketing operations.