Manufacturing Sector In Mexico Research Articles

Adaptation of the OEE Indicator in the Footwear Manufacturing Sector in Mexico

The Lean Manufacturing philosophy has been adopted in recent years by companies that have traditionally manufactured their products with artisanal processes and now seek to be competitive in today's market. The adaptation of the concepts established in this philosophy in the local industry has been one of the main limitations in the successful application of this philosophy. One of the most important measurements in the area of Lean Manufacturing is the OEE indicator, which indicates the real capacity to produce without defects. This article presents an adaptation of this indicator and its implementation in one of the industrial sectors with the greatest impact in the Mexican Bajío region, such as footwear manufacturing. This adaptation of the indicator can be applied to any company in this sector.

Developing a virtual reality and AI-based framework for advanced digital manufacturing and nearshoring opportunities in Mexico.

The growing expansion of the manufacturing sector, particularly in Mexico, has revealed a spectrum of nearshoring opportunities yet is paralleled by a discernible void in educational tools for various stakeholders, such as engineers, students, and decision-makers. This paper introduces a state-of-the-art framework, incorporating virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to metamorphose the pedagogy of advanced manufacturing systems. Through a case study focused on the design, production, and evaluation of a robotic platform, the framework endeavors to offer an exhaustive educational experience via an interactive VR environment, encapsulating (1) Robotic platform system design and modeling, enabling users to immerse themselves in the design and simulation of robotic platforms under varied conditions; (2) Virtual manufacturing company, presenting a detailed virtual manufacturing setup to enhance users' comprehension of manufacturing processes and systems, and problem-solving in realistic settings; and (3) Product evaluation, wherein users employ VR to meticulously assess the robotic platform, ensuring optimal functionality and customer satisfaction. This innovative framework melds theoretical acumen with practical application in advanced manufacturing, preparing entities to navigate Mexico's manufacturing sector's vibrant and competitive nearshoring landscape. It creates an immersive environment for understanding modern manufacturing challenges, fostering Mexico's manufacturing sector growth, and maximizing nearshoring opportunities for stakeholders.

ISO 9001 Standard: exploratory analysis in the manufacturing sector in Mexico

The purpose of this research is to provide a current situation of the ISO 9001 standard in the manufacturing sector in Mexico identifying its critical success factors, barriers and benefits of its implementation. A survey with 55 items in a five-point Likert scale was used mainly focused on quality managers and provided by e-mail and the social network LinkedIn obtaining 172 complete responses. The ISO 9001 standard is one of the initial strategies to manage quality, however, results exhibit some barriers hindering its implementation. According to the seven quality principles for the implementation of the standard established by the International Organization for Standardization, results exposed that the leadership and customer focus are the main factors considerated for a satisfactory adoption of the standard in the manufacturing sector in Mexico helping this industry to achieve some benefits.

Entrepreneurial orientation, absorptive capacity and business performance in SMEs

Purpose Firms must be constantly looking for markets and business opportunities and developing new products; to do so, they must find ways to increase their competitiveness, productivity so that it is noticed in their financial statements. The purpose of this paper is to establish the influence of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in business performance (BP) of small and medium-sized enterprises of the manufacturing sector in Mexico. Likewise, it is intended to demonstrate how absorptive capacity (ACAP) allows moderating this important relation. Design/methodology/approach Analyzing important theoretical and empirical contributions as regards this topic, a survey was designed and applied to 165 manufacturing firms, and by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling resorting to SmartPLS, the research hypotheses were tried. Findings The obtained results indicate that indeed, EO positively influences BP; in like manner, ACAP has a moderating effect on this relation. Thereby, it can be established that the manufacturing sector carries out the right practices that aim at increasing entrepreneurial competitiveness. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of the paper is its regional scale, not national; however, the typology of the manufacturing sector in the country is very similar, as the analyzed subsectors are the most relevant at a national level. Moreover, the existence of international value chains is also found in the rest of the country, so these chains are not exclusive to the region. Another limitation is that even if the analysis focuses on the main manufacturing subsectors, it would have been interesting to analyze if the behavior is similar in other subsectors. Originality/value This paper contributes to broadening the studies on EO, ACAP and BP in a different context. Besides, it allows contrasting the results obtained in an eminently manufacturing country with other economies less dependent on this sector. It also contributes to broadening the multidimensional analysis of the manufacturing sector in Mexico, as the authors of the present paper have also performed studies over similar lines in the same sector.

Regional convergence, road infrastructure, and industrial diversity in Mexico

This paper presents a convergence analysis of productivity growth in the manufacturing sector in Mexico using regional data from the National Economic Census 1999 and 2004. The absolute convergence analysis indicates that regional productivity growth follows a slow convergence trajectory. However, a conditional convergence analysis indicates that current productivity gaps can be directly attributed to divergences in the industrial profile of the regional economy as well as to differences in infrastructure endowments. The results of the paper suggest that the productivity gaps which originated from the liberalisation reforms of the 1980s and 1990s will be exhausted in 25 years approximately. The innovation of this paper is the extension of a convergence analysis to the industrial sector. The use of regional data improves the details of the analysis and allows the identification of growth patterns that had not been previously identified. Finally, it applies innovative metrics to model the industrial profile of a region and the value of transport infrastructure.

Road infrastructure spillovers on the manufacturing sector in Mexico

This paper investigates the effects of road infrastructure on industrial activity in Mexico from a quantitative perspective. It addresses three main issues. First, it investigates the existence of a relationship between road infrastructure and the industrial average product of labour. Second, it studies the determinants of such a relationship and quantifies the magnitude of the impact of road infrastructure on the average product of labour. Third, it analyses the spatial effects of road infrastructure in Mexico. The findings can be summarised as follows. First, road infrastructure has a positive and significant effect on the industrial average product of labour. However, not all the elements (roads or groups of roads) of the road system have the same effect. Second, we find that the actual magnitude of the effects of accessibility on the average product of labour depends on the physical attributes of the roads, as well as the peculiarities of the road network. Finally, we show that the regional gaps in the average product of labour across the country can be partially attributed to differences in infrastructure endowments. From a methodological perspective, the main contribution of this paper is the development of a comprehensive methodology for the analysis of some of the benefits of road infrastructure in Mexico. This methodology can be applied as a tool in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of actual infrastructure policy in this country.

Human approach in the quality management system of manufacturing SMEs in Mexico Theoretical review and proposal of a conceptual model

Currently, globalization and competitiveness exert an enormous pressure on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector in Mexico, for that reason they must be more effective and flexible to meet customer demand. In this article, we reviewed the literature on the subject according to the level of significance of variables like human factor, quality culture, quality management system (QMS) and innovation, considered as key elements of a latent competitive scale as from their exploration and explanation. The main objective of this research is to carry out a critical analysis by relating the importance of the human factor of QMS, through research on socio-emotional, intellectual factors and ethics values for achieving the effectiveness of QMS at all organization levels; it also provides a link between variables of quality culture, value propositions, and innovation. Finally, this work discusses the design of a human factor-based quality model to ensure the value propositions for customer and stakeholders’ satisfaction.

Firm dynamics and real exchange rate fluctuations: Does trade openness matter? Evidence from Mexico's manufacturing sector

In this article, we study the effect of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the responsiveness of Mexican economy to real exchange rate shocks. We argue that, by opening the US and Canadian markets to Mexican goods, NAFTA made it easier for domestic producers to take advantage of the opportunities brought by the depreciation of the real exchange rate. To identify this mechanism, we use plant-level data and compare the behavior of employment, production and investment after two big real exchange rate shocks: the first observed in the mid-1980s, the second the Tequila Crisis of 1994–1995. The evidence indicates that after passage of NAFTA exporting firms exhibited higher growth rates of employment, sales and investment vis-à-vis non-exporters. We confirm our results by analyzing the behavior of a control group of firms, that had complete access to the US market during both devaluations, and we show that they responded in a similar way in both events. Finally, we also provide direct evidence on the relationship between exports and tariff reductions brought by NAFTA. Our results support the view that NAFTA has allowed Mexican producers to respond more quickly to real exchange shocks.

Effects of training on competitiveness in the manufacturing sector

This article examines the effect of training on competitiveness inthe manufacturing sector, drawing a distinction between industries withdiffering technological and productive characteristics. Using a systemicapproach, it studies activities within firms and the impact that traininghas on them, as well as the organizational and institutional environmentthat supports training and the effect of the latter on the locality as awhole. An analysis is performed at two levels. At the firm level (microanalysis);, econometric tools are used to study the manufacturing sectorin Mexico. At the regional level (meso analysis);, the electronics industry inone region of Mexico is studied. Empirical evidence shows that enterprisetraining has different effects on competitiveness in industries with differenttechnological characteristics. It also has a positive impact on the regionthrough knowledge diffusion.

Causes of Growth and Decline in Mexico’s Maquiladora Apparel Sector

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) beginning in 1994, the maquiladora sector was the dynamic manufacturing sector in Mexico, and its apparel subsector was especially so, more than quadrupling in employment from December 1993 to July 2000. Yet NAFTA’s influence on apparel employment is hard to find in a careful time series econometric analysis. Instead, much of employment growth is explained for 1980 to the present by changes in US demand as measured by real US gross domestic product or by real US apparel spending, by US/Mexico relative labor cost as proxied by the real peso‐dollar exchange rate, and by the relaxation of quotas on US apparel imports from Mexico in 1988–1990. In equations including these variables, tests for a structural break at the time of NAFTA find an effect which is either insignificant or else quite small and in some models negative. Possible explanations for this surprising result are discussed, along with the implications for cost–benefit analysis of free trade agreements.

Trade Liberalization and Location: Empirical Evidence for Mexican Manufacturing Industries

In this paper, we provide evidence based on New Economic Geography Models and estimate the statistical effects of second nature advantages to shed some light on the locational transformation of the manufacturing sector in Mexico. Changes in regional industry shares and regional wages during trade liberalization show that the border states have gained at the expense of the old manufacturing belt in Mexico City. Furthermore, the statistical evidence indicates that that the relevant market has shifted from Mexico City to the USA. However, the relation between trade liberalization and industry location is subject to a considerable level of industry heterogeneity, suggesting the co-existence of processes of regional convergence and divergence.

Environmental compliance by firms in the manufacturing sector in Mexico

To date, little empirical evidence exists to help regulators understand why some firms comply even when there is little financial incentive to do so and others continually violate environmental regulations. This paper examines data on compliance with environmental regulations within the manufacturing sector in Mexico. The probability of complying depends, among other factors, on the kind of management practices of the firm and the level of environmental training. Some firms in the manufacturing sector over-comply with regulations. Our results show that providing environmental training to employees in the firm increases the probability of over-compliance. Local community has a positive impact on over-compliance; however, the magnitude of its impact is not as strong as is often suggested in the literature.

Economic reform or social development? the challenges of a period of reform in Latin America: case study of Mexico

>The paper argues that 20 years of development have produced very mixed results in the economies and societies of Latin America. While the region was successful in reversing the large macroeconomic disequilibria of the 1980s, economic volatility persists, mainly associated with greater integration to the world economy. More importantly, the social impact of the long period of reform remains controversial. Through a review of comparable economic and social data for the region, it is suggested in this paper that such inconsistency—between economic and social performance—may be the result of deep flaws in the design of development policies. Over‐concern for macroeconomic stability, fast growth and rapid integration to the international economy has resulted in insufficient attention being given to the social cost of adjustment and structural change. Social policies have been mainly concerned with the administration of scarce resources and the creation of safety nets to counter the negative social impact of economic policy. Less attention has been given, however, to resolving long‐entrenched inequalities in society, to improving the productivity of labour and broad‐based access to productive capital. We illustrate one aspect of this discussion through a review of employment trends in the manufacturing sector in Mexico to show that, in spite of rapid job creation, lack of integration with the rest of the economy has generated overall poor employment results, partly a result of the failure of industrial policies to provide a timely response to the many challenges faced by opening up international competition. This case study helps us to support the claim that what is probably lacking in Latin America is a strategic approach to policy design to bring consistency between rapid changes in the economy and longer term development objectives, between the short and the long term, between stability and growth, and between rising productivity and improvement of welfare in the largest developmental sense.