This study examines how export SMEs translate e-business development capabilities into export performance through cultural marketing utilization (CMU), emphasizing market-facing execution rather than digital adoption outcomes.
Survey data from 105 Korean export SMEs participating in a government-supported cultural marketing program were analyzed using a CFA-SEM sequence with CB-SEM (AMOS). E-business development was modeled as technological, organizational and strategic capabilities. CMU was specified as a mediator, and indirect effects were assessed using bootstrap confidence intervals.
All three e-business capability dimensions are positively associated with CMU. CMU is positively related to both financial and non-financial export performance. Bootstrap results indicate significant indirect effects from each capability dimension to performance via CMU.
The findings suggest that export SMEs may benefit from treating e-business development as capability building that supports repeatable CMU routines through cross-functional coordination and balanced performance monitoring. Support agencies may also improve program effectiveness by incorporating capability diagnostics and execution templates.
The study clarifies how culturally resonant resources may be operationalized through digitally enabled export-market execution. It positions CMU as a context-specific, market-facing execution mechanism rather than as a wholly new theoretical construct.
