The Mediating Role of Digital Marketing in Translating Intangible Resources Into Financial Performance

The rapid digitalization of global economic infrastructures necessitates that Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) effectively mobilize intangible technological assets to sustain competitiveness. Grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), this study investigates how data-driven digital marketing activities mediate the relationship between intangible resources (human capital analytics, information processing, and digital firm reputation) and MSMEs' financial performance. Utilizing a quantitative cross-sectional design, empirical data were collected from service-sector MSMEs and analyzed using advanced multiple regression path modeling and non-parametric bootstrapping procedures. The findings mathematically confirm a full mediation effect: intangible resources possess no direct, statistically significant impact on financial performance (p = 0.116). Instead, these static assets require mobilization through digital marketing, functioning as a vital dynamic capability. Intangible resources strongly predict the execution of computational marketing strategies (p < 0.001), which subsequently significantly enhance financial performance p = 0.022). The study concludes that algorithmic marketing infrastructure acts as the indispensable execution vehicle translating dormant intangible assets into measurable economic value. These findings provide critical theoretical advancements for engineering and technology management, demonstrating that dynamic technological deployment must symmetrically accompany resource accumulation to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in digitized markets.