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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Resour. Manag.

Sec. Smart Technologies

Analysis of Digital Transformation as A Mediator Of Government Support for Sustainable Growth Of Msmes on The North Kalimantan Border

Provisionally accepted
Irawati  HMIrawati HM1*Etty  WahyuniEtty Wahyuni2Rusdy  SetiawanRusdy Setiawan3
  • 1Faculty of Economics, Accounting Department, Borneo Tarakan University, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, Departement of Civil Engineering, University of Borneo Tarakan, Tarakan, Indonesia
  • 2Faculty of Agriculture, Agribusiness Department, Borneo Tarakan University, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, Universitas Borneo Tarakan, Tarakan, Indonesia
  • 3Faculty of Development Economics, Development Economics Department, Borneo Tarakan University, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, Universitas Borneo Tarakan, Tarakan, Indonesia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The border region of North Kalimantan faces challenges in the growth of MSMEs, especially low digital literacy, limited infrastructure, and internet access. However, this region has great potential through the MSME sector with the support of natural resources and strategic positions. This study analyzes the role of digital transformation as a mediator between government support and sustainable growth of MSMEs. A quantitative approach was applied through observation and questionnaires to 128 MSME actors, as well as SEM-PLS analysis and in-depth interviews. The results showed that government support had no direct effect on MSME growth (coefficient 0.009; p-value 0.925). However, digital transformation had a significant impact (coefficient 0.560; p-value 0.000) and strengthened the relationship between government support and MSME growth (coefficient 0.304; p-value 0.000). The main challenges include low digital literacy, limited infrastructure, and minimal internet access. The proposed solutions include the development of digital infrastructure, digital literacy training, and technology financing to support the growth of MSMEs in the border region.

Keywords: digital transformation, government support, MSMEs, sustainable growth, North Kalimantan

Received: 06 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Nov 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 HM, Wahyuni and Setiawan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Irawati HM

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