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This study aims to analyze the effect of digital competency on consumer purchase decision among Apple consumers in Malaysia, with brand identity and sales effort serving as mediating variables and consumer belief in brand as a moderating variable. Digital competency in this study consists of four dimensions: electronic word of mouth, digital infrastructure capability, digital marketing capability, and skilled manpower capability. This research employed a quantitative approach by collecting data through questionnaires distributed to Apple consumers in Malaysia who met the research criteria. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with the assistance of SmartPLS 4.0 software. The results indicate that electronic word of mouth and digital infrastructure capability have a positive and significant effect on brand identity, while digital marketing capabilityand skilled manpower capability show positive but not significant effects. Furthermore, brand identity has a positive and significant effect on sales effort, and sales effort has a positive and significant effect on consumer purchase decision. The study also finds that consumer belief in brand moderates the relationship between sales effort and consumer purchase decision. These findings confirm that Apple consumers’ purchase decisions in Malaysia are influenced not only by the company’s digital capabilities directly, but also through the formation of brand identity, the strengthening of sales effort, and consumers’ belief in the brand. This study provides both theoretical and practical contributions to the development of digital competency strategies in the premium technology industry.
Keyword: Digital Competency, Brand Identity, Sales Effort, Consumer Belief in Brand, Consumer Purchase Decision