Innovation and digital marketing in culinary: examining marketing performance

Purpose This study aims to investigate the strategic interplay between market orientation, digital marketing, and innovation and how these constructs collectively influence marketing performance in the context of culinary small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was employed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze data collected from 289 culinary SMEs that have adopted digital marketing tools for at least three years. Measurement items were adapted from validated scales and refined through expert review and pilot testing to ensure contextual relevance. Findings The results confirm that market orientation significantly influences both digital marketing adoption and innovation. Furthermore, both digital marketing and innovation have a direct and significant impact on marketing performance. The study also reveals several mediation effects, including digital marketing and innovation as partial mediators and a sequential mediation path in which market orientation enhances marketing performance through digital marketing and innovation. Originality/value This study offers a novel, integrative framework that advances the understanding of how market-driven strategies and digital technologies interact to drive innovation and performance in resource-constrained, culturally embedded, and highly dynamic culinary SME environments. Specifically, it provides empirical evidence that market orientation drives the implementation of digital marketing, which subsequently fosters innovation and leads to enhanced marketing performance, highlighting a unique sequential mediation mechanism rarely explored in the context of emerging-market SMEs.