Marketer creative innovation and consumer purchase intention: mediating market orientation–empirical evidence from SMEs in the tourism sector

Exploration of factors driving consumer purchase intention growth in marketing practices is attracting increasing attention and continues to develop in recent studies. However, there is still a gap in the literature, especially studies on market orientation as a guideline that provides clarity of marketing direction that bridges the relationship between marketers’ creative innovation and consumer purchase intention for SME products in tourism areas. Therefore, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of market orientation (MO) on the predictive relationship between marketers’ creative innovation (MCI) and consumer purchase intention (CPI) in SMEs in geopark tourism areas in the Indonesian context. Quantitatively, an explanatory survey method was developed through a research instrument that successfully collected 118 respondents’ responses, which were analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The research findings prove that MCI has a direct positive effect on CPI. MCI also has a positive effect on MO, and MO is confirmed to have a positive effect on CPI. These findings also provide evidence that MO has a positive partial mediation effect on the relationship between MCI and CPI in SME products in geopark tourism areas. These findings practically highlight the importance of clarity and policy regarding destination direction, target customers, and competitor behavior information, which are crucial for facilitating marketers’ creative innovation mechanisms as strategic competencies that can be developed within marketing practices to increase tourists’ purchase intentions. This can be even more effective when integrated with artificial intelligence (AI)-based digital platforms. Exploring the mediating effect of market orientation on the predictive relationship between marketers’ creative innovation and consumers’ purchase intentions for SME products in the Geopark Tourism area. Evaluating three market orientation parameters to bridge the three parameters of marketers’ innovative creativity in an effort to increase purchase intentions. Clarifying clarity and policies related to objectives, target customers, and competitor behavior information is crucial to facilitate marketers’ creative innovation mechanisms as a strategic competency that can be developed into more innovative marketing practices to increase tourists’ purchase intentions.