Employee-perceived social capital, management-led marketing innovation and financial target achievement: evidence from an Indonesian software and hardware distributor

Purpose This study examines how employee-perceived internal social capital, external social capital, management-led marketing innovation, and competitive advantage are associated with perceived financial target achievement at PT ACA Pacific, an Indonesian software and hardware distributor. This study is motivated by the firm’s transition from predominantly offline sales to online and e-commerce-enabled channels for Kodak Alaris scanner products. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an exploratory single-company design. Primary data were collected through a census survey of 50 employees of PT ACA Pacific, while secondary sales information was used descriptively to contextualize the firm’s digital sales transition. The survey data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Given the single-firm setting and modest sample size, the results are interpreted as evidence of associations among employee perceptions within PT ACA Pacific, rather than as externally generalizable causal estimates. Findings The findings indicate that employees’ perceived internal and external social capital are positively associated with management-led marketing innovation. Marketing innovation is positively associated with perceived competitive advantage and has a weaker direct association with perceived financial target attainment. Perceived competitive advantage is also positively associated with perceived financial-target achievement. These findings suggest that information sharing, stakeholder relationships, and digital marketing initiatives may support employees’ perceptions of competitive and financial improvement, although the results should be interpreted cautiously because the model relies on perceptual data from one organization. Originality/value This study contributes exploratory evidence on how social capital and marketing innovation operate within a technology distribution firm undergoing digital channel transformation in an emerging market context. This study also clarifies the boundary conditions of single-company survey evidence by distinguishing employee-perceived financial target achievement from objective firm-level financial performance.