Dekeng Setyo Budiarto, Tiwi Rossiani
As key drivers of employment, MSMEs play a vital role in developing countries, including Indonesia. Technological advancements challenge MSME owners to adapt their strategies to customer needs to remain viable. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of performance in assessing the influence of digital financial literacy on sustainability. We collected questionnaires from 216 MSME owners in Yogyakarta's creative industry. The questionnaires were distributed via two methods: offline and online via Google Forms. The questionnaire data were analyzed using PLS-SEM to test the research hypothesis. The results indicate that digital financial literacy positively affects sustainability. Furthermore, performance mediates the relationship between digital financial literacy and sustainability. The results of the mediation test show a VAF of 36.8%, indicating that the relationship between digital financial literacy and sustainability is partially mediated by performance. The results provide implications for MSME owners to improve their digital financial literacy, as rapid technological developments enable them to survive in uncertain environmental conditions. This study makes a methodological contribution by extending previous research through simultaneous testing and examination of mediation effects, which remain underexplored in the context of creative-industry MSMEs in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.