From marketing activity to market readiness: developing the market-facing capability readiness index for MSMEs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26740/bisma.v19n1.p130-161Keywords:
capability maturity, diagnostic index, market-facing capability, MSMEs readiness, PLS-SEMAbstract
Digital marketing activity is visible, whereas the maturity of the routines supporting market-facing decisions requires a separate assessment. To address this diagnostic gap, this study develops and conducts an initial psychometric assessment of the Market-Facing Capability Readiness Index (MFCRI), an instrument assessing how customer insight, value proposition, channel management, and relationship practices evolve from ad-hoc experimentation to institutionalized, decision-oriented routines. Employing a cross-sectional scale development design alongside hierarchical Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), measurement quality and the robustness of a transparent aggregation rule are rigorously examined. The 406 respondent records support a common higher-order readiness factor and show that equal weighting closely matches a loading-based alternative for overall scores. However, substantial overlap among the proposed domains means that domain-level interpretation remains provisional and requires item refinement and independent validation. The MFCRI therefore contributes a capability-maturity approach that conceptually distinguishes activity presence from routine maturity and offers a prototype for further validation in mentoring and digital assessment settings; digital platform adoption was not independently measured.
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