Influence of Product Innovation to the Advantages of Competitive in SME Processing Seaweed Through Performance, Marketing in West Beach Area, South Sulawesi Province

Hj. A. Yuliana, H. Mahfudnurnajamuddin, Mukhlis Sufri, Serlin Serang

Abstract: The research was conducted on 105 MSMEs Seaweed spread in West coast of South Sulawesi Province (Makassar City, Maros Regency, Pangkep Regency, Barru Regency and Pinrang Regency), which aims to test and analyze the effect of product innovation on competitive advantage by placing marketing performance as a mediating variable. The approach in this research using explanatory research. The results of hypothesis testing using Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) with the help of AMOS 22 provide proof that product innovation has a significant effect on marketing performance and competitive advantage. In other causality found the same conditions, that the marketing performance has a significant effect on competitive advantage. The role of marketing performance mediation in analyzing the effect of product innovation on competitive advantage through marketing performance is not proven to have any real effect.

Keywords: Product innovation, marketing performance, competitive advantage