Entrepreneurial Orientation, Digital Marketing Capability, Financial Resource Accessibility, and Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role of Customer Engagement

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation, digital marketing capability, and financial resource accessibility on sustainable performance in start-ups, with a focus on the mediating role of customer engagement. Drawing on data collected from founders and managers of active start-ups in Lahore, Pakistan, the study employs a quantitative survey design and analyzes the responses using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that entrepreneurial orientation, digital marketing capability, and financial resource accessibility significantly enhance customer engagement, which in turn positively influences sustainable performance. Among these predictors, financial resource accessibility demonstrates the strongest direct effect, while digital marketing capability and entrepreneurial orientation exert substantial indirect effects through customer engagement. The mediation analysis proves the conclusion that the customer engagement serves as a key mechanism, which transforms the strategic capabilities and resource availability into the long-term sustainability performance. The r.esearch adds to theory by combining entrepreneurship, marketing, and finance in a sustainability-oriented model and provides practical implications of start-ups, policymakers, and entrepreneurship support organizations to maximize sustainable growth by being customer-oriented.