La influencia de las tic y la innovación en el rendimiento de las pymes de Aguascalientes: una evidencia empírica

El nuevo ambiente de los negocios exige a las organizaciones un redireccionamiento en sus estrategias, para adecuarlas al nuevo entorno empresarial que presenta un mercado cada vez más globalizado y competitivo. Así, las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (tic) y la innovación surgen como dos elementos esenciales que deben ser incorporados en las estrategias empresariales, y son dos factores que permiten mejorar el rendimiento de las empresas, principalmente de las pymes. En este sentido, este estudio con una muestra de 400 empresas analiza los efectos de las  tic y la innovación en el rendimiento de las pymes de Aguascalientes. Los resultados obtenidos muestran, por un lado, que las tic ejercen un efecto positivo en la innovación de las empresas y, por otro, tanto las tic como la innovación ejercen un efecto positivo en el rendimiento de las pymes

Efectos de la cultura sustentable en la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial y el desempeño financiero en la industria manufacturera

The relationship between culture and firm sustainability practices is widely recognized in the literature, but little is known about a sustainable culture, particularly in a context of corporate social responsibility, since sustainability in manufacturing firms involves managing physical aspects of production and transforming the organization’s culture into a sustainable culture. However, the existing research in the literature has been mainly oriented towards the analysis of a culture that focuses on improving firm financial performance. The present study aims to fill this existing gap, and generate new knowledge of the relationship between these three constructs, distribute a questionnaire to a sample of 300 manufacturing firms in Mexico, and analyze the data through partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results showed that the sustainable culture has positive effects on social responsibility and firms financial performance, and corporate social responsibility has positive effects on financial performance of manufacturing firms. Thus, the results obtained allow us to conclude that manufacturing firms that have adopted a sustainable culture have not only improved their social responsibility, but also their financial performance. However, when corporate social responsibility acts as a mediating variable, it further improves firm financial performance.La relación entre la cultura y las prácticas de sustentabilidad empresarial es ampliamente reconocida en la literatura, pero se sabe poco acerca de una cultura sustentable, particularmente en un contexto de la responsabilidad social empresarial, ya que la sustentabilidad en las empresas manufactureras implica gestionar los aspectos físicos de la producción y transformar la cultura de la organización en una cultura sustentable. Sin embargo, la investigación existente en la literatura se ha orientado principalmente en el análisis de una cultura que se enfoca en mejorar el rendimiento financiero de las empresas. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo llenar este vacío existente, y generar nuevo conocimiento de la relación entre estos tres constructos, distribuyendo un cuestionario a una muestra de 300 empresas manufactureras de México, y analizando los datos mediante los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales basados en mínimos cuadrados parciales. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que la cultura sustentable tiene efectos positivos en la responsabilidad social y en el rendimiento financiero de las empresas, y la responsabilidad social empresarial tiene efectos positivos en el rendimiento financiero de las empresas manufactureras. Así, los resultados obtenidos permiten concluir que las empresas manufactureras que han adoptado una cultura sustentable no solamente han mejorado su responsabilidad social, sino también su rendimiento financiero. Sin embargo, cuando la responsabilidad social empresarial actúa como una variable mediadora, mejora aún más el rendimiento financiero de las empresas

The relationship between knowledge management and innovation level in Mexican SMEs: Empirical evidence

The transformation of the current society from an industry-based economy to a knowledge management and innovation-based economy is changing the design and implementation of business strategies and the nature of the competition among the organizations which are mainly small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). They struggle to survive in a market which is more demanding and competitive, so they seeknowledge management as one of the most effective strategies that may help to enable the innovation activities into the businesses. For these reasons, this research paper has as a main goal to analyze the relationship between knowledge management and innovation in Mexican SMEs. The empirical analysis used 125 manufacturing SMEs (each SME having from 20 to 250 employees) as a sample to be carried out. The obtained results indicate that knowledge management has a positive impact in products, process, and management systems innovation

Eco-innovation and the circular economy in the automotive industry

Circular economy is emerging as a new sustainability paradigm. Similarly, eco-innovation is being recognized as one of the most important mechanisms that allow the transition from a linear to a circular economy in production processes, as there is a strong relationship between eco-innovation (eco-innovation of products, processes and management) and circular economy activities. However, the relationship between eco-innovation and circular economy is an issue that has been isolated and little analyzed in the academic literature. Therefore, this research fills this gap by exploring the interdependence between eco-innovation and circular economy. The research is conducted through an extensive literature review from where a research framework consisting of 2 measurement scales, 18 items and three hypotheses were developed. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed and 460 responses were obtained from companies in the automotive and auto parts industry in Mexico. The data obtained were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modelling. The results suggest that eco-innovation of products, process and management has a significant positive impact on the circular economy of companies in the automotive and auto parts industry. The findings of this research can inform managers in the automotive sector and policy makers when formulating and deploying environmentally sustainable strategies. This paper fills a research gap by expanding the limited body of knowledge that relates eco-innovation and circular economy and providing some evidence of their relationship. The research also allows the unique characteristics of eco-innovation and the circular economy to be understood within a particular context, growing in this manner the body of knowledge on this field

The effect of green strategies and eco-innovation on Mexican automotive industry sustainable and financial performance: Sustainable supply chains as a mediating variable

This work focuses on the study of how green strategies (GBS) and eco-innovation (EI) contribute to increasing sustainable and financial performance in the context of the Mexican manufacturing industry, and whether these relationships are mediated by the practices involved in sustainable supply chains (SSCs). This analysis is carried out through an empirical study of a sample of 460 companies in the automotive industry. The results reveal direct positive effects of GBS and EI on performance both, ustainable and financial. In spite of the key role played by SSC, this variable only exerts a mediating effect on the sustainable performance. Nevertheless, although the significant direct effect of sustainable supply chains on financial performance is not verified, there is an indirect effect of supply chains on financial performance through their influence on sustainable development. The findings reveal important implications for managers. They provide rational arguments (increase in performance) that should motivate companies in the Mexican automotive industry to incorporate values, standards, and actions focused on reducing the effects of their activities on the environment. These considerations will lead to a change in behavior which is better aligned with global environmental demands.Cátedra de Emprendimiento Santander-UPCT ; Doctoral studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascaliente

Knowledge Management and Performance in Mexican Manufacturing Small Business

Knowledge management has been recently considered in business administration literature, as a new discipline that has made an important contribution to the development and implementation of business strategies in organizations. Likewise, it has been considered that businesses, regardless of their size, that have implemented knowledge management as another one of their strategies have obtained significant benefits, being a higher level of performance one of them. In this sense, this paper with a simple of 124 firms analyzes the existing relation between knowledge management and the performance of small business in Aguascalientes state (Mexico). The obtained results show that knowledge management has a significant positive relation in the performance level of the small business

The relationship between supply chain management and competitiveness

The globalization of the markets and the new business environmental are forcing organizations, mainly the small and medium-sized enterprises, to improve their competitiveness significantly since to remain in the current market it is necessary to modify the managerial strategies to adapt them to the changes and the clients’ requirements. In this sense, supply chain management appears in the literature like one of the managerial strategies that are implementing in important number of firms to be able increase competitiveness.Therefore, the essential objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between supply chain management and the competitiveness of small and mediumsized enterprises, using for it a sample of 305 firms of the Aguascalientes State. The obtained results show that supply chain management has a positive influence in competitiveness level, as well as in the financial performance, cost reduction and the use of technology of the small and medium-sized enterprises

Barriers to innovation in service SMEs: Evidence from Mexico

© 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose - Specific research related to the study of innovation barriers in service SMEs in the Latin American region is limited. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects that external environmental, financial and human barriers have on innovation activities, particularly, within the context of Mexican service SMEs. Design/methodology/approach - Three hypotheses were formulated and tested using structural equation modelling. Data were collected through an instrument that was developed based on relevant constructs adapted from the literature. The instrument was validated using confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach's α test and the composite reliability index to ensure reliability of the theoretical model. The instrument was distributed among service SMEs in the Aguascalientes state of Mexico, from were 308 valid responses were obtained. Findings - In general, the results indicate that all the three barriers investigated (i.e. external environmental, financial and human) hinder innovation in service SMEs, with the external environmental barrier being the most significant of the three. Practical implications - The findings of this research can inform managers of service SMEs and policy makers when formulating and implementing strategies to reduce innovation barriers. Originality/value - Evidence suggests that specific research related to the study of innovation barriers in service SMEs in the Latin American region is limited. This paper fills this research gap by expanding the limited body of knowledge in this field and providing further evidence on this phenomenon. The study also enables the distinctive characteristics of innovation barriers to be understood within a particular context,expanding in this way the body of knowledge on this field