The Impact of Creative Digital Marketing on the Sustainability of MSME Businesses: A Mediating Role of Marketing Performance

Creativity in digital marketing is essential in today's digital economy, where businesses need to adapt to the rapid changes brought by digital innovation. The declining trend in the contribution of MSMEs is worrying for the economy and the business world. MSMEs need to maximize digital marketing creativity for business continuity through the role of marketing performance. The aim of this research is to look at the role of creative digital marketing in improving the marketing performance and sustainability of MSMEs. This research uses explanatory quantitative methods with data analysis techniques, namely the SmartPLS 3.0 application. The object of this research is members of MSMEs assisted by Baznas Microfinance Malang with a sample of 170 MSMEs. The results of this research explain that creative digital marketing is able to improve marketing performance and business sustainability and the role of marketing performance is able to mediate between creative digital marketing and business sustainability. The contribution of this research to science is to determine the role of creativity in digital marketing management to improve marketing performance and business sustainability. It is very important to study each dimension of creative digital marketing so that it can be applied to all MSMEs, especially Baznaz-assisted MSMEs in Malang City. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license.


INTRODUCTION
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia have a huge contribution to economic growth (Dirgiatmo et al., 2019;Wiwoho et al., 2020;Purba et al., 2021;Lestari et al., 2022;Susanto et al., 2023).The important role of SMEs in East Java shows that SMEs are a form of people's economy in East Java.Over the last five years, East Java cooperatives and SMEs have contributed more than 56%.Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperatives and SMEs contributed 57.25% (Diskop UKM Prov Jatim, 2022).This shows the significant contribution of MSMEs as the main source of income for the people of East Java which also plays an important role in absorbing labor.This is very possible with the support of many cooperatives and MSMEs in East Java.The decline in contribution is due to various factors, namely the Covid -19 pandemic which has an impact on the performance of MSMEs (Cao et al., 2018;Susanto et al., 2023), lack of understanding of entrepreneurship (Ratten, 2020), and digital technology (media use).social) in the productivity and performance of MSMEs (Lepkowska -White et al., 2019;Malik et al., 2020;Susanto, et al., 2023), as well as creativity in digital marketing (Suryawardani et al., 2021).BAZNAS Microfinance provides a solution to the declin e in the contribution of MSMEs, namely by reducing poverty rates, improving the people's economy through micro businesses, and reducing loan sharks and online loans which are rampant in society.The micro businesses assisted by BAZNAS are increasing every year, namely from 115 micro business actors in 2020 to 482 micro business actors in 2022, of the 482 micro business actors, 81.5% are women or 393 female micro business actors in the city of Malang.
Based on data from malangkota.go.id (2023), the decline in offline trade turnover is caused by the rise of online "power" traders who are starting to dominate retail traders by offering much lower prices without paying attention to product quality.Not a few of the MSME traders assisted by BAznaz microfinance also sell online.Still, the public's attention to the accounts of these MSME sellers could be more optimal, which impacts sales turnover.The declining trend in the contribution of MSMEs is worrying for the economy and the business world (Susanto et al., 2023).For business sustainability, MSMEs need to maximize creativity in digital marketing (Amelda et al., 2021;Munir et al., 2023).Creativity in digital marketing is very important in today's digital economy, where businesses must adapt to the rapid changes brought by digital innovation (Sahut et al., 2019).The digital revolution has changed the competitive landscape and created new opportunities for businesses to reach and interact with their target audiences (Sahut et al., 2019).Effective mastery of digital innovation, including creative digital marketing strategies, can provide a competitive advantage for businesses (Sahut et al., 2019).
The relationship between creative digital marketing and marketing performance has been studied extensively in the literature.Several studies have found a relationship between creative digital marketing and marketing performance results.Munir et al., (2023) research investigated the impact of creative digital marketing and brand articulation capabilities on marketing performance.These findings support the model that creative digital marketing has a significant influence on marketing performance, and brand articulation ability plays a mediating and strategic role in improving marketing performance.Likewise with research by Amelda et al., (2021) which examined the relationship between creative digital marketing capabilities, digital leadership capabilities, and technological capabilities on company performance.Research findings show that creative digital marketing capabilities have a positive and significant effect on company performance.Some of these findings are not in accordance with the findings of Sholeh, M., et al., (2020) and Ramadhani et al., (2022) which stated that creative digital marketing was unable to improve marketing performance significantly.
Creativity in digital marketing not only influences marketing performance, but also influences the sustainability of MSME businesses.Based on research from Dumitriu et al. (2019); Wardana, F. P., & Mukharomah, W. (2023); Dora, Y. M., & Saudi, M. H. (2020); Azzahra, C. I, et al., (2021) stated that the sustainability of businesses or MSMEs can increase with creative digital marketing.When MSME players utilize creativity in digital marketing as a strategy to introduce the products or services provided, it will have an impact on the long-term sustainability of MSME businesses.Digital marketing will becom e a powerful tool when MSMEs involve creativity and innovation in its implementation (Muis et al., 2022).Innovation in digital marketing can include the use of new technology, unconventional communication strategies, and creative content creation (Wojciechowski & Fichnová, 2022).Meanwhile, creativity is creating interesting content, marketing videos related to products or services, story-based content, promotions on social media, creating interactive content, storing customer data well and optimizing it to notify the latest products or services, marketing with influencers, and create clear/measurable marketing content.When creativity is optimized in digital marketing, it has an impact on the sustainability of MSME businesses not only now but in the long t erm.
The sustainability of MSME businesses is also influenced by marketing performance.Marketing performance includes the output of various strategies and all efforts made by the company.Every company needs to know market performance or the success of the products being marketed.The measure of success of marketing performance can be seen from the success of its efforts in business competition.This research uses indicators of increasing sales turnover, sales trends, return rates for sales products, and m arket reach of MSMEs assisted by Baznaz microfinance in Malang City.Marketing performance in general is an important element of company performance because a company's performance can be seen from its marketing performance so far (Wardana, F. P., & Mukharomah, W, 2023).Based on research from Chatterjee et al. (2021) marketing performance can influence the sustainability of MSME businesses based on sales turnover and sales increase trends.Marketing performance not only influences the sustainability of MSM E businesses, but also becomes a mediating variable between creative digital marketing and the sustainability of MSME businesses.The contribution of this research to science is to determine the role of creativity in digital marketing management to improve marketing performance and business sustainability.It is very important to study each dimension of creative digital marketing so that it can be applied to all MSMEs, especially Baznaz-assisted MSMEs in Malang City.
There is a mediating role for marketing performance variables from creative digital marketing relationships in the sustainability of MSME businesses based on research from Wardana, F. P., & Mukharomah, W. (2023).Creativity in digital marketing involves the use of social media platforms to promote products or services, namely by creating interesting content, marketing videos, story -based content, promotions on social media, interactive content, personalization (customer data), influencer marketing, and cont ent marketing (Muis et al., 2022).Using this platform will have an impact on the sustainability of MSME businesses through optimizing marketing performance Chatterjee et al. (2021).The aim of this research is to test the influence of the role of Creative digital marketing variables on marketing performance and business sustainability and to test the role of marketing performance as a mediating variable.Based on the explanation of previous research above, researchers will conduct research related to "The Impact of Creative Digital Marketing on the Sustainability of MSME Businesses in Malang City".

METHOD
This research uses explanatory quantitative methods.Explanatory quantitative research is an experiment that aims to explain several relationships between variables (causal relationships) and does not place too much emphasis on the depth of the data (Bungin, 2001).The location of Baznas Microfrinance Malang is in Maninjau Sel.In VIII, Sawojajar, District.Kedungkandang, Malang City, East Java 65139.The objects of this research are members of MSMEs assisted by Baznas Microfrinance Malang and the research was carried out on 5-6 February 2023.The data sources used in this research are primary and secondary data sources.
The population in this research is MSMEs under the guidance of Baznas Malang City which is located in Sawojajar Malang.

Figure 2. Number of Types of MSME Businesses Assisted by Baznas Malang City
The total population is 520 MSMEs.In determining the sample, the calculation was based on Hair et al., (2021) multiplied by 5-10 by the number of indicators, namely 170 (17 x 10) samples, then the number of MSMEs studied was 170 MSMEs.Indicators can be described by a single statement item, which allows for concise and efficient measurement of the construct being assessed (Hair Jr, et al, 2021).The criteria for selecting MSMEs are MSMEs that are registered as members of Baznas Microfinance in Sawojajar Malang.The data collection technique in this research was to use a questionnaire distributed to members of Microfinance MSMEs assisted by Baznas in Sawojajar Malang, totalling 170 MSMEs.The sample criteria used are 1) owning a business; 2) make sales online (social media and online stores); 3) The business has been running for more than 1 year.In calculating the sample, researchers used the path analysis method with the help of the SmartPLS 3.0 application.The testing process is carried out by testing descriptive analysis, outer model (discriminant validity and reliability test), inner model (R square, Path Coefficient and t Statistics -bootstrapping).The point scale given to each respondent' s answer is using a Likert scale, namely 1 to 5 scales.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Respondents in this research were 170 respondents.The general description of respondents in this study, namely gender, age, education, length of business, business field, and sales turnover.The criteria for respondents for this research are respondents who sell their products online and have been running it for at least 1 year.Based on gender, the largest number is 107 women who are MSME actors and 63 men who are MSME actors.Characteristics based on age were at most 21-30 years old, 73 respondents, less than 21 years old, 54 respondents, 31-40 years old, 20 respondents, 41-50 years old, 15 respondents, more than 51 years old, 8 respondents.Judging from education, the highest number of undergraduates was 84 respondents, followed by SMA/MA/SMK with 78 respondents, elementary school with 6 respondents, junior high school with 2 respondents.
Furthermore, looking at the length of business, namely a maximum of 1-5 years, 139 respondents, 6-10 years, 21 respondents, more than 15 years, 8 respondents, and 11 -15 years, 2 respondents.General description based on the business sector with the most number being trade (ex: grocery store, a gent, distributor, export/import) with 53 respondents, industry (ex: food/drink business, textiles, etc.) with 48 respondents, then other business sectors as many as 34 respondents, services (ex: salon, workshop, EO, etc.) as many as 20 respondents, fisheries (ex: fish cultivation) as many as 6 respondents, agriculture (ex: farming, cultivation of ornamental plants, etc.) as many as 4 respondents, technology/Information/ Communication (ex: web developer, production house, etc.) was 3 respondents, and livestock (ex: cattle, goats, etc.) was 2 respondents.

Validity Test Figure 3. Outer Loading
Based on Figure 2 and Table 2, the results of the convergent validity test using SmartPLS 3.0 can be declared valid if the outer loadings value is more than 0.7.The results in the table above show that the Creative Digital Marketing (X1) variable, the eight items tested, were valid.The Marketing Performance variable (Z) has four items that were tested with valid results.The MSME business sustainability variable (Y) has five items that were tested with valid results.Based on the presentation of the table, it can be concluded that all items in the variables tested have valid results.

Discriminant Validity
Based on Table 4, the cross loading value for each question item for the Creative Digital Marketing variable has a higher value compared to question items for other variables and has a value of more than 0.5.The Marketing Performance variable has a higher value compared to question items o n other variables and has a value of more than 0.5.And the sustainability of MSME businesses has a higher value compared to question items on other variables and has a value of more than 0.5.

Item
Creative Based on Table 5, the analysis of the square roots average variance extracted values above shows that all the root values of average variance extracted (AVE) are greater than the correlation values between one construct and the values of other constructs.So, it can be stated that the creative digital marketing variable is accurately able to measure the creative digital marketing variable as indicated by the highest square roots average variance extracted value compared to other variables, namely 0.879.The business sustainability variable is able to accurately measure the business sustainability variable as indicated by the highest square roots average variance extracted value compared to other variables, namely 0.848.Marketing performance variables are able to accurately measure marketing performance variables as indicated by the highest square roots average variance extracted value compared to other variables, namely 0.907.The results of the Construct reliability test can be seen in Table 8, namely composite reliability in creative digital marketing is 0.957, business sustainability is 0.927, and marketing performance is 0.949.All composite reliability values are above 0.70.So, it can be said that these four constructs already have good reliability or are categorized as reliable.Meanwhile, when viewed from the Cronbach's alpha value of the creative digital marketing variable, it is 0.948, business sustainability is 0.902, and marketing performance is 0.928.It can be concluded that all variables are reliable because their values are greater than 0.70.

Inner Model
Based on the results of the analysis of the coefficient of determination (R -Square) from Table 7, it shows that the R-Square value is >0.5, which states that the variable relationship is categorized as moderate.If the percentage is 70.1%, all exogenous construct variables (X) influence purchasing interest and 29.9% are influenced by other variables.Then, 77.3% of all exogenous construct variables (X) influence the trust variable and 22.7% are influenced by other variables.Based on Table 8, a positive relationship between variables occurs if the path coefficient is close to 1, and a negative relationship occurs between variables if the path coefficient is close to -1.Table 10 shows that there is a direct relationship between the variables studied, the creative digital marketing variable on the sustainability of MSME businesses is stated to have an effect with a p-value of 0.000, creative digital marketing on marketing performance is stated to have an effect with a p-value of 0.000, and marketing performance on the sustainability of MSME businesses is stated influential with a p-value of 0.003.Based on Table 8, it shows that there is an influence between creative digital marketing on the sustainability of MSME businesses through marketing performance.The p-value of 0.003 is less than 0.05, indicating a statistically significant relationship.Therefore, marketing performance, as a mediating variable, can have a large and beneficial influence on the relationship between creative digital mark eting and the sustainability of MSME businesses.The marketing performance variable acts as a mediator between the influence of creative digital marketing on the sustainability of MSME businesses.The model is described in the path coefficient model, which provides quantitative evidence of the extent to which one variable directly influences another.The first hypothesis of this research is how creative digital marketing can influence the marketing performance of MSMEs assisted by BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.The management results of the SmartPLS 3.0 program reveal that the influence of creative digital marketing on marketing performance has a p-value of 0.000 and a positive coefficient value of 0.879.Based on the results of this study, it is in accordance with previous research (Munir et al., 2023;Amelda et al., 2021) which found that creative digital marketing has a positive relationship with company performance.Therefore, the first hypothesis in this research is accepted.Based on the results of the data obtained, all measurements were valid and reliable in this study.The measure uses digital t ools and techniques such as websites, social media, visual content, video, email campaigns and more to create engaging and impactful experiences for consumers.So, when BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar-assisted MSMEs optimize the use of creative digital marketing, it will improve the marketing performance of these MSMEs.Creative digital marketing is an effort to produce content that attracts the attention of the audience by utilizing the power of digital media to spread these messages.When MSMEs optimize creative digital marketing in their marketing, it will improve marketing performance.For example, if MSMEs create interesting content about their products/services, consumers will initially only be local to Malang, when the viral product/service will spread to various regions.For story-based content, when run by MSME actors, consumers indirectly know the manufacturing and operational processes of the products/services being marketed.So that marketing performance is more optimal and effective in introducing products/services owned by BAZNAS Microfinance-assisted MSME players.
The second hypothesis in this research is how creative digital marketing can influence the sustainability of MSME businesses assisted by BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.Based on the results of this study, it is in accordance with previous research (Gagauz, 2020;Dumitriu et al., 2019;Wardana, F. P., & Mukharomah, W., 2023;Dora, Y. M., & Saudi, M. H., 2020;Azzahra, C. I, et al., 2021) which states that creative digital marketing has a positive relationship with the sustainability of MSME businesses.Therefore, the second hypothesis in this study is accepted.When MSMEs optimize digital marketing by creating interesting content, marketing videos, story-based content, social media campaigns, interactive content, personalization (customer data), influencer marketing, and content marketing, they will survive in the long term and increase sales.MSMEs.The use of digital marketing by MSMEs can have a significant impact on the sustainability of their business.Optimizing digital marketing tools and techniques can help MSMEs manage their brand equity, achieve growth and improve longterm sustainability.MSMEs that optimize creative digital marketing can increase business income, business growth, product quality, competitiveness, and business environmental conditions.Based on the research results, the sustainability of MSME businesses can survive in the long term if they optimize creativity in digital marketing.Business sustainability refers to the practice of running business operations and production processes while still considering social and environmental aspects.The main goal of business sustainability is to maintain profitability and also consider human welfare.
The third hypothesis in this research is how marketing performance can influence the sustainability of MSME businesses assisted by BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.The results of this research are in line with previous research (Wardana, F. P., & Mukharomah, W., 2023;Chatterjee et al., 2021) which revealed that marketing performance has a significant and positive influence on the sustainability of MSME businesses.Based on the results and presentation, it shows that the third hypothesis of this research is accepted.Marketing performance in this research can be seen from sales turnover, increasing sales trends, sales product returns, and regional reach.Based on marketing performance measurements, it has succeeded in increasing the sustainability of MSMEs assisted by BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.Where marketing performance plays an important role in the sustainability of MSME businesses because it helps MSMEs to reach a wider audience, increases the visibility of MSME brands, and increases the involvement of MSME customers in selling t heir products, which ultimately improves marketing performance and contributes to the sustainability of MSME businesses.The wider market reach of MSMEs will increase demand for the products offered by MSME players.Maintaining relationships with distributors, customers and suppliers is also very important to support the smooth running of MSME businesses.Because when marketing performance improves, it will contribute to the sustainability of MSME businesses now and in the future.
The fourth hypothesis in this research is how the role of marketing performance mediates between creative digital marketing and the sustainability of MSME businesses assisted by BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.Based on the management results of the SmartPLS 3.0 program, it is revealed that the influence of creative digital marketing on the sustainability of MSME businesses is mediated by marketing performance with a p-value of 0.003 and a positive coefficient value of 0.357.The results of this research are in line with previous research (Chatterjee et al., 2021;Wardana, F. P., & Mukharomah, W., 2023) which revealed that marketing performance is able to mediate between creative digital marketing and the sustainability of MSME businesses.Based on the results and presentation, it shows that the fourth hypothesis of this research is accepted.Creative digital marketing is a strategy that can influence marketing performance on the sustainability of MSME businesses.Where creative digital marketing involves the use of social media platforms to promote products or services, namely by creating interesting content, marketing videos, story -based content, social media campaigns, interactive content, personalization (customer data), influencer marketing, and content marketing.When the maximum u se of creativity in digital marketing will have an impact on marketing performance, namely increasing sales turnover, increasing trends in product or service sales, minimum sales product return rates, and product reach in various regions, so that the susta inability of MSME businesses will have an impact not only momentarily but also long term.The sustainability of MSME businesses can be seen from MSME business revenues, MSME business growth, the quality of the products or services provided in accordance with those offered, the products or services provided are competitive with the same products or services in various regions, and the conditions of the business environment.

CONCLUSION
Creative Digital Marketing has a positive influence on the marketing perf ormance of MSMEs assisted by BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.These findings show that MSMEs that optimize creative digital marketing will improve marketing performance so that products are known not only locally in Malang but outside the region, thus increasing demand and products/services for MSMEs under the guidance of BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.Creative Digital Marketing has a positive influence on the sustainability of MSME businesses under the guidance of BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.Based on the findings in this research, when MSMEs optimize creative digital marketing, it has a significant relationship to the sustainability of MSME businesses.Marketing Performance has a positive influence on the Sustainability of MSME Businesses Assisted by BAZNA S Microfinance Sawojajar.The results of the findings of this research are that when marketing performance is optimized, the businesses run by MSMEs will run long term and reach a wide reach, not just the local scope.Marketing Performance can mediate the relationship between creative digital marketing and the Sustainability of MSME Businesses Assisted by BAZNAS Microfinance Sawojajar.The results show that the role of marketing performance can mediate the relationship between creative digital marketing and MSME business sustainability or partially mediate it.The results of this research can be applied to all MSMEs with various types of business with the aim of achieving innovation in an economic era with increasingly varied consumer service demands.With this creative digital marketing, traders can create additional creations to attract consumer interest and this will have an impact on the growth of marketing performance and the sustainability of the MSME business.For future researchers to continue this research by adding other dimensions such as finance, training and interest in learning digital marketing among MSMEs in increasing creativity in the online market.
Based on the research results, it can be recommended that future research add independent variables to increase the diversity of references, for example creative digital marketing capability variables, digital leadership capabilities, and technology capabilities.The research object can be expanded not only to Malang City MSMEs but also to the provincial or Indonesian level so that the research population is wider and the sample can also be added.In terms of creative digital marketing, content creation for Malang City MSMEs assisted by Baznas can be maximized by choosing interactive content supported by attractive visuals.In terms of marketing performance, Malang City MSMEs assisted by Baznas are advised to focus more on competitiveness and business environmental conditions.In terms of sustainability of MSME businesses, Malang City MSMEs assisted by Baznas are advised to focus more on competitiveness and business environmental conditions.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Conceptual Framework Hypothesis In accordance with Figure1, the research hypothesis is built as follows: H1: Creative Digital Marketing has a positive effect on Marketing Performance SMEs Sawojajar Malang H2: Creative Digital Marketing has a positive effect on Firm Sustanibility SMEs Sawojajar Malang H3: Marketing Performance has a positive effect on Firm Sustanibility SMEs Sawojajar Malang H4: Creative Digital Marketing Influences Firm Sustainability SMEs Sawojajar Malang with Marketing Performance as a Mediating Variable : salon, workshop, EO, beauty clinic, convection & screen printing, boarding houses, money… Trade (ex: grocery stores, agents, distributors, export/import, handicrafts, home decor (scented… Industry (ex: food/beverage business, textiles, furniture, etc.) Agriculture (ex: farming, cultivation of ornamental plants, etc.) Livestock (ex: cattle, goats, fish, etc.) Technology/Information/Communication/Digital (ex: web developer, production house, etc.)

Table 1 .
Variables and Items

Table 3 ,
all variables in this study were declared to have passed the square root of average test because all variables had Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values above >0.5.It is known that the Creative Digital Marketing variable (X1) has an AVE of 0.773, the Marketing Performance variable (Z) has an AVE of 0.719 and the MSME business sustainability variable (Y) has an AVE of 0.822.

Table 5 .
Square Roots Average Variance Extracted