Mexican Firms Research Articles

How Public Support for Innovation Affect Entrepreneurial Orientation of Mexican Companies: The Moderating Effect of Being a Family Business

AbstractWe study the relationships between the input and network additionalities prompted by public support for innovation and entrepreneurial orientation and whether being a family business moderates these relationships. The results, based on a dataset of 115 Mexican firms, show that the changes generated by public support for innovation programmes encourage entrepreneurial orientation. Additionally, family firms have a differential ability to transform input and network additionalities into entrepreneurial orientation. This study contributes theoretically and practically by highlighting the positive effects of research and development support programmes on a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation. It also points out the need to consider family status when designing public policies, since our results reveal that family and non-family firms are not equally efficient in transforming resources into entrepreneurial orientation and that family firms that drive networking through the rules of the subsidy do not trigger the expected potential benefits.

Unlocking supply chain agility: Exploring the nexus of transformational leadership and knowledge management

In today’s dynamic business environment, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) must swiftly adapt to market demands and operational challenges. Transformational leadership is thought to promote a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing. This study investigates the impact of transformational leadership (TL) on knowledge management (KM) and supply chain agility (SCA) in Mexican firms. Using a quantitative causal-predictive methodology, data were collected through a self-administered survey of 200 randomly selected MSMEs in Michoacán, Mexico. The findings reveal that TL significantly enhances KM. However, no direct significant impact of TL on SCA was observed. Instead, KM was found to positively influence SCA. Additionally, the results indicate that KM fully mediates the relationship between TL and SCA. These insights underscore the importance of fostering robust knowledge management practices to improve supply chain agility in Mexican MSMEs, offering valuable guidance for decision-makers seeking to boost organizational adaptability and responsiveness.

Transfer of knowledge: Do trade surpluses foster quality in accounting practices?

We study the association of persistent trade surpluses and earning management behavior in developing countries that sign trade agreements with developed countries, i.e., whether a coupling of nations via trade agreements results in a spillover of increased quality in accounting practices. Specifically, we assess financial reporting quality in Mexico in the years following NAFTA (as measured by earnings management). Under NAFTA, Mexico experienced persistent trade surpluses and adopted stricter regulatory standards. Using publicly listed Mexican firms, we find that the quality of earnings decreased under Mexican GAAP but improved and stabilized under IFRS. Our findings do not change when we control for the size of the trade surpluses, alternative measures of abnormal accruals, various growth measures, research and development intensity, and various measures of distress. Not only has Mexico experienced a growth in their economy under NAFTA but also an increase in earnings quality due to the transfer of accounting knowledge.

Motivations and outcomes of environmental corporate sustainability in family and non‐family Mexican firms: The mediating role of eco‐innovation strategy

AbstractThis study examines how different motivations impact environmental corporate sustainability outcomes in terms of eco‐innovation product and process adoption, and the mediating role of eco‐innovation strategy on these relationships. The empirical study uses a sample of 271 Mexican manufacturing and services firms of all sizes, 149 of which are family firms (FFs), and applies Baron and Kenny's procedure with hierarchical regression and sensitivity analysis to test mediation. The results show that eco‐innovation strategy plays a critical mediating role in transforming eco‐innovation motivations to environmental sustainability outcomes and provides evidence of differences in the environmental sustainability behaviour of family and non‐family firms. While FFs seem to be driven mainly by internal motivations, which lead them to adopt a more proactive eco‐innovation strategy that positively influences their environmental sustainability outcomes, for non‐family firms the external pressures are the main drivers of environmental outcomes, both directly and indirectly, through the firm's eco‐innovation strategy. In light of these findings, it seems clear that the academic debate on the differences between family and non‐family firms in driving eco‐innovation strategies and outcomes remains open; thus, more research is needed to complete the picture of the eco‐innovation management domain.

Transformational leadership and innovation to boost business performance: The case of small Mexican firms

This study aimed to determine the influence of transformational leadership (TL) and innovation on business performance and evaluate the possible mediating role of innovation on the relationship between TL and business performance in the context of post-pandemic in Mexico. Thus, quantitative research was performed using structural equations based on covariance (CB-SEM) using the maximum likelihood method. A self-administered survey was used to gather data from a random sample of 225 micro, small and medium-sized firms (MSMEs) in Guanajuato, Mexico. The results reveal that TL has a significant influence on innovation and only a significant indirect effect on firm performance was demonstrated. Moreover, innovation demonstrated to play a fully mediating role in the relationship between TL and firm performance. These findings suggest that TL can be an effective strategy to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and improve innovation and performance. Therefore, this study provides valuable information for decision-makers in order to promote the growth and resilience of their firms to face future challenges.

The Relationship between Human Resource Diversity, Innovation Activity and Internationalization Intensity in Colombian and Mexican Firms

Extant developed country-based literature suggests that human resource diversity is a significant predictor of both innovation and internationalization. Equally, this literature consistently finds innovation to be a clear contributor to internationalization and vice versa. This study tests these assumptions in an emerging market context, thus responding to the call for increased business research in under-represented regions and Latin America, specifically. Executives of 343 firms responded to a Likert-scale survey to identify recent HR diversity practices, firm innovation activity and firm internationalization intensity. Principal components, logistic regression and multivariate regression analysis provide insight into how diversity and innovation impact internationalization and how diversity and internationalization impact innovation. As the first study of these relationships in the Latin American setting, our research contributes to the literature on emerging markets by providing evidence of firm behaviour in Colombia and Mexico and demonstrating that Latin American firms do not perform as developed country-based literature would suggest. Diversity, innovation and internationalization do not act as complementary activities in the Colombian and Mexican firms in this study, which contrasts with findings in developed market firms. This study contributes to the literature by exploring the relationships among HR diversity, firm innovation activity and firm internationalization intensity.

Multi-lender choice: Corporate bonds vs syndicated loans in mexican firms

Multi-lender choice: Corporate bonds vs syndicated loans in mexican firms

Social Exchange Approach and Happiness at Work: Exploring the Mediating Effect of Organizational Commitment

This article aims to determine the direct and indirect effects of social exchange relationships Leader Member Exchange and Team Member Exchange (LMX and TMX) on organizational commitment and happiness at work. Based on the literature review and relying on the Social Exchange Theory perspective, the authors constructed the hypothetical structure, including the four variables under study. The sample comprised 177 employees from Mexican firms, and the proposed hypotheses were under examination through a path analysis. Results show that LMX, TMX, and happiness at work have a direct effect on organizational commitment. We also found an organizational commitment to be a partial relationship mediator between LMX and happiness at work.

Does organizational learning differ in manufacturing and service firms? Evidence from Mexico

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate organizational learning (OL) at the individual, group and organizational levels in service and manufacturing firms in Mexico to determine if there are differences in how OL operates or in the link between OL and firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed experienced managers from 1,093 Mexican firms across a range of service and manufacturing industries, using the Strategic Learning Assessment Map (Bontis et al., 2002).FindingsOrganizational learning processes (OLPs) were highly similar in service and manufacturing firms and OL had a strong positive association with performance in both types of firms. OLPs at the individual level had a slightly greater impact on performance for service firms.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide further evidence of the strong link between OL and firm performance. There were no significant correlations of firm size or age with the OLPs or firm performance. However, the micro-companies that constitute 95% of Mexican firms were under-represented in the sample.Practical implicationsOLPs are equally important in manufacturing and service firms and across developed and developing economies. Therefore, OL should pervade all organizations. Managers should create cultures that encourage employees to produce new ideas and share those ideas with peers and supervisors through both formal and informal communication processes.Social implicationsThe findings indicate that the individual employees’ contributions to OL are the main driver of the impact of OLPs on firm performance and that individual-level learning processes are even more relevant for service firms than for manufacturing firms. As value co-production takes place simultaneously at the moment of the service delivery/service consumption, the individual learning stock is fundamental for enhanced firm performance.Originality/valueThe authors believe this to be the first large-scale study to compare OLPs in manufacturing and service firms across industries in a major emerging market.

The Influence of ES-CSF Profile Configurations and Human Capital on Organizational Performance

Abstract Critical Success Factors (CSF) for a successful enterprise system (ES) implementation have been widely studied at the level of individual firms. However, firms may (unintendedly) end up forming groups (clusters) whose members look alike in terms of the CSF that they emphasize during the ES implementation. The objective of this study is to identify such clusters, analyze the differences in organizational performance and ES benefits among them, and explore whether human capital amplifies the effects of the CSF-based cluster membership. Data were collected from a sample of 125 Mexican firms that have implemented ES. The data analysis indicates the presence of three distinct clusters that differ in organizational performance and ES benefits, with performance indicators being greater for high-human-capital-level firms across the clusters. The findings suggest that ES deployments are complex phenomena subject to institutional forces that shape the CSF configurations that firms emphasize. Different CSF configurations, in turn, determine whether firms profit (or not) from their ES investments.

The impact of IFRS on earnings management: evidence from Mexico

PurposePrior literature investigating the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) finds that managerial incentives, capital market institutions and accounting standards interact to endogenously determine accounting outcomes. In this paper, we investigate the impact of changing from local GAAP to IFRS in 2012 on earnings management by public firms in Mexico. Given the institutional environment and managerial incentives in Mexico, there is not a clear theoretical prediction for the impact of Mexico's adoption of IFRS on earnings management. Thus, it is an empirical question whether a change in accounting standards had any effect on earnings management.Design/methodology/approachWe use three measures of earnings smoothing and one measure of upwards earnings management. Logistic regression analysis along with t-tests across two time periods, pre-IFRS (2009–2011) and post-IFRS (2013–2015) are used to determine if there is a significant change in the earnings management of Mexican firms, and if this change is different for companies cross-listed in the US and companies listed only in the Bolsa.FindingsWe hypothesize and find that adopting IFRS is associated with lower earnings management via earnings smoothing in Mexico, and the reduction is greater for firms cross-listed in the United States. Our results support the contention that strong institutions and enforcement aid in the implementation of new accounting standards.Originality/valueFirst, we contribute to the literature on the adoption of IFRS around the world. The consensus in the literature is that the impact of IFRS on financial reporting is country-specific. To our knowledge, we are the first to conduct such research on Mexico. Second, our findings indicate that IFRS adoption is associated with a reduction in earnings management through income smoothing by firms in Mexico. This contributes to a small but growing body of literature documenting consequences of improvements in Mexican capital markets. Results of research in this area provide important insights to capital market participants and regulators in Mexico.

The progress of digitalisation in Mexico: effects on the institutional structure

The purpose of this research is to discuss how industrial and innovation processes in Mexico address the new challenges of the current industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) on production, work practices, public-private collaborative research and the creation of new relational and production capabilities. The work uses data obtained from a questionnaire applied to qualified informants of firms and intermediary organisations in Mexico, looking for their perspectives on the productive incorporation of new digital technologies. The analysed organisations were selected through a theoretical sample (not statistically representative). The analysis carried out takes precautions before the possible bias derived from the selected organisations. Our results show that the perspectives of the actors of the Mexican innovation system, highlights serious limitations in terms of technical and organisational skills of firms to incorporate digital technologies in production processes. The study provides a first exploratory analysis on the visions of the agents involved on the technical and organisational challenges of the new digital technologies. Additionally, this paper provides new analytical inputs to reflect on the potential opportunities of the Mexican firms to adopt these new technical trends and institutional and governance critical aspects for a debate about a national agenda of new industrial and innovation policies.

Boosting innovation in emerging markets: the moderating role of human capital

PurposeThe overall aim of this paper is to identify the human capital and organizational factors that facilitate knowledge supporting system to boost innovation in emerging markets. The innovative capability of organizations depends undoubtedly on how successful they are in the generation of knowledge, either via external acquisition or internal creation, and how organizational culture, management support and human capital factors are significant.Design/methodology/approachTo validate this phenomenon, a quantitative explanatory study was designed. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire completed by 211 respondent of firms located in Mexico. During data analysis, structural equation modeling was implemented with the support of SmartPLS 3.0 to understand the moderating role of organizational factors and human capital between knowledge support system and innovativeness.FindingsThe findings show that it is fundamental to build theories grounded in the particular realities of Latin American countries. For instance, these results suggest that there are two paths of innovation in Mexico in which organizational and human factors play key but differentiated roles. On the one hand, organizational culture, top management support, commitment and openness to innovation are essential to building and maintaining a knowledge support system that enables innovation. Additionally, promoting people-oriented organizations is key to innovation. Human capital factors, such as collaborators' motivation, professional skills and the opportunity to learn, intensify the knowledge support system and innovative capability.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations of the study are that only Mexican firms have been analyzed, and it is not possible to generalize the results to other contexts. Additionally, we have not identified whether the organizations that participated in the study originated in Mexico or are global enterprises that operate in Mexico. It could be significant to analyze whether multinationals from other countries that are operating in Mexico are more committed to learning to innovate than Mexican firms and the differences in their knowledge generation activities.Practical implicationsThe results of this study invite: (1) Managers to develop strategic initiatives that systematically promote knowledge generation activities identifying external and internal activities that allow them to build and maintain a knowledge support system, (2) Organizations to promote collaborative spaces in which employees can work in teams and strengthen their social ties, identifying communication physical and virtual spaces to share new ideas, seek new ways of doing things, and explore new processes and activities. This process will be significant in a culture where resistance to change predefines how knowledge translates into innovation.Social implicationsThe improvement of collaborators skills must be accompanied by other policies to enhance the innovation and business environment including the modernization and expansion of infrastructure. It is fundamental that governments firms and universities jointly develop a research agenda that will lead to the identification of significant issues and the effectiveness of solutions to foster innovation in Mexico. Only a holistic approach is likely to help the country move up the value chain and become a knowledge economy. In fact innovation is seen as a social process of public sector organizations that promote knowledge infrastructure such as universities and the government agencies that produce knowledge.Originality/valueThese results suggest that there are two paths of innovation in Mexico in which organizational and human factors play a key but differentiated role. In Mexican firms, innovative capability is possible due to knowledge support systems built on organizational factors, and human capital factors, such as professional skills and motivation for opportunities to learn which intensify innovation.

Internationalization of SMEs; Evidence from Mexican Leather Footwear Industry

Despite Mexican leather footwear industry is traditional, it has not increased or even maintained the level of competitiveness in the global market; the export problems of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) have been studied by some authors but the internationalization (beyond exports and imports and including foreign direct investment, international subcontracting and international technical cooperation) has not been deeply explored so it is not documented how the process of this economic segment is occurring and if that is evolving accordingly to the theory (E.g. Uppsala model). The objective of this study is to analyze the internationalization of SMEs of the Mexican leather footwear industry to know if accumulated knowledge and experience in foreign markets effectively leads the organization to more advanced and complex stages of international exchange. A survey composed by 47 questions was applied to a sample of 21 SMEs of the Mexican leather footwear industry, their experience was also collected by semi-structured interviews. Results show that SMEs are involved in the internationalization process strongly oriented to the development of exports and imports and only a small number of them have been able to reach the stage of foreign direct investment. These results suggest that internationalization is only conceived in terms of imports and exports and efforts are carried out only to those stages even if SMEs could obtain a great benefit from the rest of the internationalization exchange (FDI, international subcontracting and technical cooperation). This behaviour might be due to some factors as: (1) the relatively low level of competitiveness of the Mexican firms in the global industry, (2) the lack of know-how and (3) the vision of the owners and managers of the company.

Modes of innovation in an emerging economy: a firm-level analysis from Mexico

ABSTRACT Firms that combine both the science, technology, and innovation (STI) and learning-by-doing, learning-by-using, and learning-by-interacting (DUI) modes of innovation are more likely to attain innovation outcomes than those employing either mode separately. Different studies across Europe and Canada support this proposition to different extents. However, the core of these studies has been carried out in advanced economies, inadvertently neglecting other relevant innovation milieus. This study examines the nuances of such innovation strategy in an emerging economy context. We explore differences and potential limitations in the existent literature. The analysis covers 9 628 Mexican firms with 10 or more employees. The results of the logit regressions suggest that a combined STI and DUI innovation approach yields better results in terms of product innovation. Contrary to the existing literature, our results point out that in an emerging economy context, the weight of DUI mode of innovation is larger on product innovation than the STI mode. Finally, DUI mode has a greater impact on process innovation than STI mode as well as the combination of STI and DUI; thus, showing that the benefits of combining STI and DUI are limited only to product innovation.

Risks and opportunities for the progress of digitalization in Mexico

ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to identify Mexico’s current conditions for the incorporation of the changes derived from the processes of increasing digitization into its productive sector, called Industry 4.0. To achieve this goal, this work uses the results obtained from a survey questionnaire answered by qualified technological and productive informants with the purpose of identifying the perspectives of firms initiating this transformation. The selection of information units was based on a theoretical sample (not statistically representative), a methodological feature that forced us to analyze carefully the data collected. The results reached show that, from the perspective of the actors involved, the innovative structure in Mexico presents serious limitations in terms of technical and organizational capabilities of the firms to incorporate digital technologies in their production processes. This paper proposes a first exploratory analysis on the visions of Mexican firms and intermediary organizations that deals with the increasing technical and organizational challenges of the new digital technologies. This article provides analytical and empirical inputs for the analysis of the opportunities that Mexican firms have to incorporate these new technical trends. Finally, the work highlights critical institutional and governance aspects for the debate of national industrial and innovative policy agendas.

The Impact of Product Category Lifecycle and Marketing Capabilities on New Product Performance: the Mediating Role of Marketing Program Planning and Launch Proficiency

Theory underlines the role of new product development for company survival and success. However, the success rates of new products launches are always at underwhelming levels. Practical wisdom shows that new product performance is the outcome of both controllable, internal factors and external, uncontrollable factors. The authors contrast the role of product category lifecycle as an external factor and of marketing capabilities as an internal factor, to find the balance between these two determinants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the impact of both types of factors on launch proficiency and further product growth. We apply PLS-SEM on a sample of 213 Mexican firms to test a theoretical model grounded on resource-advantage theory and strategic choice theory. Results show that both determinants are significant, but marketing capabilities exert a much stronger influence on new product performance. The relationship between marketing capabilities and unique product performance is mediated by marketing program planning. In contrast, the relationship between product category lifecycle and new product performance is mediated by launch proficiency. In this context, marketing program planning efficiency represents the mid-term and long-term quality of strategic marketing. At the same time, the overall launch proficiency reflects the short-term ability of the company to launch new products. From the perspective of strategic choice theory, the results of our study reinforce the importance of a successful launch for the short-term and mid-term new product performance. Besides, our empirical research finds that product category lifecycle strengthens the positive relationship between marketing program planning and unique product performance. This makes marketing program planning more critical for new product performance as the product category matures. From a managerial standpoint, our findings dismiss the uncontrollable market forces as the main reason for new product failures. We show that new product failures are most often caused by the marketing manager’s inability to devise an appropriate marketing plan. The paper also contributes to the literature of resource-advantage theory by providing compelling evidence regarding the foremost importance of marketing capabilities for new product success. Our findings also emphasize the essential role of launch proficiency in further product success, as it is difficult to recover from an early product failure. In practical terms, managers are advised not to postpone new product launches under the «bad timing» argument. Keywords launch proficiency, marketing capabilities, marketing program planning, new product performance, product lifecycle.

The progress of digitalization in Mexico: effects on the institutional structure

The purpose of this research is to discuss how industrial and innovation processes in Mexico address the new challenges of the current industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) on production, work practices, public-private collaborative research and the creation of new relational and production capabilities. The work uses data obtained from a questionnaire applied to qualified informants of firms and intermediary organisations in Mexico, looking for their perspectives on the productive incorporation of new digital technologies. The analysed organisations were selected through a theoretical sample (not statistically representative). The analysis carried out takes precautions before the possible bias derived from the selected organisations. Our results show that the perspectives of the actors of the Mexican innovation system, highlights serious limitations in terms of technical and organisational skills of firms to incorporate digital technologies in production processes. The study provides a first exploratory analysis on the visions of the agents involved on the technical and organisational challenges of the new digital technologies. Additionally, this paper provides new analytical inputs to reflect on the potential opportunities of the Mexican firms to adopt these new technical trends and institutional and governance critical aspects for a debate about a national agenda of new industrial and innovation policies.

Organizational culture and entrepreneurial orientation: examination through a new conceptualization lens

To enrich understanding of the causes of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), we examine whether and how EO is rooted in organizational culture. Following a new conceptualization of EO and based on data from 269 Mexican firms, we theorize and find that organizational culture is a strategic resource that firms can use to cultivate EO and this influence is more transmitted through firms’ entrepreneurial behaviors than through managers’ attitude towards risk. Further, this process is moderated by firms’ strategic planning. We hope that our study demonstrates the promise of the new conceptualization of EO and stimulates more research towards the EO antecedent direction. We also hope that the results help improving the understanding and contextualization of EO in an under-studied area --Latin America.

Innovation capabilities and performance of biotechnology firms

ObjetivoO objetivo desta pesquisa é determinar a influência de diferentes tipos de capacidades na capacidade de inovação das empresas, medida como a introdução de novos (ou melhorados) produtos biotecnológicos no mercado pela empresa mexicana.Design/metodologia/abordagemOs dados de uma pesquisa nacional de 40 empresas de biotecnologia mexicanas são analisados em 2015. Um modelo PLS foi usado levando em conta: o tamanho da amostra, a natureza preditiva da pesquisa e a complexidade de analisar o efeito de variáveis latentes.ResultadosSegundo pesquisas anteriores, nossos resultados mostram a influência das capacidades de inovação nos resultados de inovação alcançados pela empresa de biotecnologia. Por outro lado, o efeito das capacidades de gestão nos resultados de inovação da empresa é muito limitado e moderado. Por fim, e diferentemente da evidência predominante anterior, não foi encontrada relação entre as capacidades de absorção das empresas e seu desempenho inovador.Originalidade/valorO estudo fornece novas contribuições analíticas e empíricas que levam a uma reflexão sobre as oportunidades que as empresas mexicanas têm para se inserir nos mercados globais de média e alta tecnologia no setor de biotecnologia. A detecção de oportunidades tecnológicas exploráveis pode fornecer à biotecnologia mexicana recursos diretos para desenvolver novas políticas industriais e de inovação e ajustar as atuais políticas não organizadas.Palavras-chaveBiotecnologia, Capacidades, Inovaçño, Desempenho da empresa, Políticas setoriaisTipo de artigoTrabalho de pesquisa