Innovation-Decision Processes and SME Digital Communication Strategies in Short-Video Environments

Miftahul Rozaq

Abstract


The rapid expansion of short-form video platforms has transformed how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) develop and implement digital communication strategies. Beyond functioning as marketing channels, these platforms create interactive communication environments where entrepreneurs experiment with content formats, engage audiences, and refine digital storytelling practices. Despite their growing importance, existing studies have primarily emphasized technological affordances and consumer engagement, while paying limited attention to the strategic communication processes through which SMEs translate platform opportunities into communication strategies. Addressing this gap, this study examines how short-video platform communication environments influence SME digital communication strategy innovation through the innovation-decision process. Drawing on Diffusion of Innovation Theory, the innovation-decision process is conceptualized as a mechanism that explains how entrepreneurs evaluate, adopt, and implement digital communication practices. Survey data were collected from 392 SMEs in Bandung Regency, Indonesia, and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings demonstrate that short-video platform communication environments significantly influence both the innovation-decision process and digital communication strategy innovation. Moreover, the innovation-decision process partially mediates the relationship between platform communication environments and communication strategy innovation. These findings extend communication research by positioning short-video platforms as strategic communication environments rather than merely technological tools, demonstrating how communication experimentation, entrepreneurial decision-making, and digital storytelling collectively enable SMEs to develop adaptive and innovative digital communication strategies.

 

Keywords: Digital communication strategy, digital storytelling, innovation-decision process, short-video platforms, SMEs. 

 

https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2026-4203-07


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