Sustainable Knowledge Plasticity as a Key Mediator of Organizational Performance in Indonesian FMCG Distribution Firms

INKUBIS: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis Volume 8, Issue 1, 419-428 e_ISSN: 2775-3913 https://inkubis.polteksci.ac.id/index.php/ink/index DOI: doi.org/10.59261/inkubis.v8i1.211 Sustainable Knowledge Plasticity as a Key Mediator of Organizational Performance in Indonesian FMCG Distribution Firms Lala Setiany Wee1* David Sukardi Kodrat2 Damelina Basauli Tambuna3 Universitas Ciputra Surabaya, Indonesia Universitas Ciputra Surabaya, Indonesia Universitas Ciputra Surabaya, Indonesia *Corresponding author: Lala Setiany Wee, Universitas Ciputra Surabaya, Indonesia. 🖂 Article Info : Article history: Received: April 01, 2026 Revised: May 05, 2026 Accepted: May 07, 2026 Abstract Background: There are rapid environmental changes in the FMCG distribution industry in Indonesia; this steady change demands constant adaptation by organizations and renewal of knowledge. Existing research investigates organizational agility, thriving at work, and knowledge management independently, with no prior study examining the integrated impact of these variables on sustainable performance. This study conceptualizes Sustainable Knowledge Plasticity (SKP) as a novel dynamic capability that enables organizations to engage in continuous cycles of Keywords: knowledge renewal and integration. FMCG distribution; knowledge Objective: This study aims to explore the mediating role of Sustainable management; organizational Knowledge Plasticity (SKP) between organizational agility, thriving at agility; organizational work, and knowledge management in predicting organizational performance; SEM-PLS. performance. Methods: This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design using stratified purposive sampling among 385 FMCG distribution employees across Java and Sulawesi provinces. Data were collected using a validated Likert-scale questionnaire, followed by analysis through SEM-PLS (SmartPLS 4.0). Results: Organizational agility, thriving at work, and knowledge management have significant effects on Sustainable Knowledge Plasticity (SKP), which in turn directly influences organizational performance. The mediation analysis indicates that Sustainable Knowledge Plasticity (SKP) is a critical mechanism for translating adaptive capacities into sustainable outcomes. Conclusion: Sustainable Knowledge Plasticity (SKP) is an essential precursor to organizational performance, linking adaptability with sustainability in the long term and extending Dynamic Capability Theory through a strong emphasis on continual knowledge replenishment. To cite this article: Lala Setiany Wee, David Sukardi Kodrat, Damelina Basauli Tambuna (2026). Sustainable Knowledge Plasticity as a Key Mediator of Organizational Performance in Indonesian FMCG Distribution Firms. INKUBIS: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis, 8(1), 409-418. https://doi.org/10.59261/inkubis.v8i1.211 INTRODUCTION The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distribution industry in Indonesia is evolving in a constantly changing environment, making it one of the most challenging sectors in Southeast Asia (Enoch O. Alonge et al., 2024; Rampaul, 2025). Indonesia is an archipelagic country comprising no fewer than 17,000 islands, with a population of around 270 million people; therefore, distribution systems are inherently complex. This translates into a formidable challenge for distribution companies to maintain consistency in operational performance (Boojihawon et al., 2021; Sharma et al., 2019). 419 | INKUBIS: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis Lala Setiany Wee, David Sukardi Kodrat, Damelina Basauli Tambuna Sustainable Knowledge... A constant upward surge in long-haul logistics expenditures since 2022–2023 (with a particularly sharp increase of 34.6%) and the rapid digitalization of sales and marketing methods have presented new competitive challenges in recent quarters across the entire industry (Alshahrani & Salam, 2022; Nguyen Thi & Vu Dinh, 2025). These developments also threaten organizational knowledge infrastructures, requiring firms not only to remain reactively aware but also to engage in systematic renewal. The absence of formalized mechanisms for knowledge renewal constrains the continuity of organizational performance (Chan et al., 2024). Distributors with thousands of points of sale inherently face significant complexity. Although most information systems are in place, some implementation deviations persist. Within the first three weeks, actively competing retail outlets recorded a price discrepancy of 27.8% within their new promotional programs (Fazlagić et al., 2021; Sofiyabadi et al., 2022). This suggests that underlying assumptions regarding organizational management and knowledge management have not sufficiently addressed the systemic challenges of large-scale distribution networks. The literature on organizational agility and knowledge management provides multiple explanations of how organizations achieve performance parity; however, the results vary widely (Cegarra-Navarro et al., 2016; Damayanti et al., 2025). While some studies report positive associations, others present weak, non-significant, or even negative results (Jan et al., 2023). These inconsistencies suggest gaps in conceptual development related to crucial mediating mechanisms or experiential evidence. In particular, no previous study has examined the role of sustainable knowledge plasticity (SKP) as a potential mediator between adaptive capabilities and long-term performance outcomes. As such, this conceptual gap represents a key theoretical challenge that this study seeks to address within the frameworks of Dynamic Capabilities Theory Teece (2018) and the Knowledge-Based View (Argote & Ingram, 2000). The concept of knowledge plasticity defined as the set of factors enabling simultaneous learning and adaptation has been widely discussed at the individual level. At the organizational level, however, knowledge plasticity refers to the ability of an organization to learn and enhance its capacity to assimilate, integrate, and apply knowledge over time through adaptive learning in a changing environment (Li, 2022; Robertson et al., 2023). Compared to the speed of knowledge transfer (knowledge agility) and the external assimilation of new knowledge (absorptive capacity), sustainable knowledge plasticity (SKP) represents a distinct and novel theoretical contribution, as it emphasizes the dynamic internal renewal and sustainability of organizational knowledge systems. Context is critical, as knowledge must be continuously aligned with varying operational conditions in FMCG distribution. Research on organizational capabilities within the FMCG distribution sector in developing countries remains limited, underscoring the need for further theoretical and empirical development (Filani et al., 2021; Tanuwijaya & Mauritsius, 2024). The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to examine the direct relationships among organizational agility, thriving at work, and knowledge management in influencing sustainable knowled (...truncated)