Volume 11 No. 1 (2026)
ISSN: 2550-1429 (Online)
Authors: Dr. Abd Razzif Bin Abd Razak, Siti Faizah Zainal, Siti Nurulaini Azmi, Nur Hafizah Roslan, Nur Syairah Ani
Corresponding Author: razzif@fpe.upsi.edu.my
Affiliation: Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Perak, Malaysia
This study investigates how digital transformation capabilities influence agropreneurial performance within social commerce platforms, using the Agromarketing Masterclass TikTok Shop Edition (AMTTSE) programme as a case study. Drawing on Resource-Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capabilities Theory, and Institutional Theory, we develop a comprehensive theoretical framework that explains how digital transformation capabilities operate as strategic resources for agropreneurs. Using the original AMTTSE dataset covering 80 companies and 160 entrepreneurs over six months (June-December 2024), we employ structural equation modelling and mediation analysis to test our hypotheses. Our findings reveal that digital transformation capabilities significantly predict agropreneurial performance through multiple pathways: content capability enhancement, platform capability utilisation, and institutional alignment. Specifically, adaptive content capability demonstrates the strongest positive impact on performance (β = 0.42, p < 0.001), followed by platform capability integration (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) and institutional capability development (β = 0.27, p < 0.001). Notably, platform capability mediates 35% of the relationship between content capability and performance outcomes. These findings contribute to the digital business literature by demonstrating how capability development frameworks can explain strategic digital transformation in social commerce contexts.
Keywords: Agromarketing Masterclass TikTok Shop Edition, Digital Transformation Capability, Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Theory, Institutional Theory, Agropreneurial Performance, Social Commerce, Government-led Digital Entrepreneurship
The digital economy has fundamentally reshaped market access for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in agricultural sectors where traditional distribution constraints have historically limited entrepreneurial opportunities. Social commerce platforms now represent an important digital frontier, combining entertainment, community engagement, product discovery, and transaction functions within unified digital environments. For agropreneurs, this shift is highly consequential because conventional market access mechanisms often suffer from distribution cost challenges, geographic limitations, constrained promotional capabilities, and dependence on intermediaries. TikTok Shop has emerged as a particularly relevant platform because it enables sellers to leverage short-video content, livestreaming, creator-based trust and platform-based fulfilment to reach consumers beyond conventional physical markets.
In Malaysia, the agricultural marketing ecosystem has been shaped by the continuing need to improve rural income, strengthen value-added agro-based products and enhance the digital readiness of entrepreneurs. The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) introduced the Agromarketing Masterclass TikTok Shop Edition as a structured intervention to equip agropreneurs with practical digital marketing, livestreaming and content creation capabilities. The programme involved 80 companies and 160 entrepreneurs, with two training cohorts and six months of performance monitoring from June to December 2024. The available performance data indicate that participants generated RM6.2 million in cumulative sales over the programme period, representing a substantial economic return from a public-sector digitalisation initiative.
Despite the programme's apparent success in achieving measurable economic outcomes, critical scholarly questions remain regarding the capability mechanisms that translate digital training investments into sustainable business performance. Existing literature suggests that digital capability development is complex and context-dependent, requiring more than mere technological adoption or skills acquisition. Moreover, the specific mechanisms through which digital transformation capabilities generate competitive advantage in social commerce contexts, particularly for agropreneurs, remain underexplored. This research gap is particularly pronounced in the ARBMS audience context, which prioritises strategic management and organisational capability development.
Thus, this study makes a timely contribution by investigating how digital transformation capabilities operate as strategic resources for agropreneurial performance in social commerce environments. Building on Dynamic Capabilities Theory, we argue that digital transformation is not merely about acquiring technology but involves continuous processes of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring digital resources to create superior performance outcomes. We extend this argument by incorporating RBV's emphasis on resource heterogeneity and institutional theory's insights on environmental legitimacy to develop a comprehensive capability framework.
Article history:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24191/jibe.2026.0105.0203
Publisher: UiTM Press, Universiti Teknologi MARA
The author declares no conflict of interest.
This manuscript has been prepared according to ARBMS journal guidelines and is ready for submission to the Journal of Advanced Research in Business and Management Studies.
Last updated: July 12, 2026