Digital marketing innovation and firm performance: the role of decision-making comprehensiveness in dynamic environments

Purpose This study integrates insights from upper echelon (UE) theory and the attention-based view (ABV) to analyze how digital marketing innovation might enhance organizational performance in a pandemic context by addressing top management team (TMT) decision-making comprehensiveness and environmental dynamism. Design/methodology/approach This research utilizes a dataset collected through a questionnaire survey of 143 Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)-listed firms operating during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Hierarchical regression analyses were used to assess the overall hypothesis. Findings The authors discover that innovation in digital marketing has a beneficial effect on firm performance in a pandemic setting. The authors further find that decision comprehensiveness moderates the relationship between digital marketing innovation and firm performance with accentuated benefits in stable environments. Originality/value This study broadens the understanding of contextual factors that influence the performance benefits of digital marketing innovation and sheds light on the role of TMT decision comprehensiveness in enhancing the impact of digital marketing innovation on firm performance. In addition, the authors developed and tested a new digital marketing innovation measure.