UNVEILING THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PATH TO SMALL ENTERPRISE SUCCESS: A CROSS-METHODOLOGICAL ROBUSTNESS CHECK BETWEEN PLS-SEM AND CB-SEM FRAMEWORKS

Abstract

This study establishes a rigorous psychometric and structural framework to investigate how entrepreneurial characteristics (CHAR) drive digital content marketing (DCM) and downstream business success and sustainability (BUSU) through the core mechanism of consumer data utilization (CDUS) within small hospitality enterprises. Methodologically, it addresses a prominent research gap by executing a dual-phase empirical investigation (n = 290) using parallel dual-estimation via PLS-SEM and CB-SEM as a cross-methodological robustness check. First, an iterative exploratory factor analysis workflow successfully purified the measurement instruments, refining a preliminary pool of 78 indicators down to stable, parsimonious scales. CDUS resolved cleanly into a distinct four-factor structure, validating the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities perspective. Second, structural model evaluations revealed exceptional cross-methodological convergence. All direct causal pathways aligned perfectly in direction and significance, with narrow parameter discrepancies (Db = 0.010 to 0.146), confirming model stability and the absence of method bias. DCM manifested the strongest direct impact on BUSU (b_PLS = 0.531; b_CB = 0.677). A critical algorithmic divergence emerged only within the long-range sequential mediation (CHAR®CDUS®DCM®BUSU), which achieved significance under CB-SEM (p < 0.05) but not PLS-SEM (p = 0.085), highlighting CB-SEM’s heightened sensitivity to multi-stage covariance structures. Ultimately, the absolute alignment of total indirect effects (b_PLS = 0.319; b_CB = 0.438, p < 0.001) substantiates that the newly validated scale achieves a gold standard. Academically and managerially, the findings demonstrate that proactive entrepreneurial intent must be systematically operationalized into actionable data assets to engineer strategic digital content that yields sustainable multi-dimensional business success.

Keywords: Psychometric Validation, Digital Content Marketing, Consumer Data Utilization, Model Convergence, Small Enterprises, PLS-SEM, CB-SEM