Sandra Yesenia Pinzón-Castro

Barriers to innovation in service SMEs: Evidence from Mexico

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.

Market Knowledge Management and Performance in Mexican Small Business

Market knowledge management is a relatively new construct in the current literature of business and management sciences. It is considered by some researchers and scholars as a possible miracle cure not only to obtain more and better results in small enterprises but also to improve significantly their level of business return. Similarly, the adoption and implementation of market knowledge management allow small enterprises to achieve more and better competitive advantages, a better market ranking and a significant increase in their business return. Therefore, this empirical research aims to analyze the prevailing relation between market knowledge management and the level of business return in small enterprises. In order to do this, a sample of 364 small and medium-sized enterprises was used from Aguascalientes State (Mexico). The results obtained show that market knowledge management has a positive and significant influence in the business return of small enterprises.

Brand Equity and Business Performance in Family and Non-Family Mexican Small Business

Brand equity is a topic that has been analyzed and discussed recently by scholars and researchers in the field of marketing. It is also considered as one of the most successful business strategies which allows enterprises, especially small ones, not only to survive in a highly globalized and competitive market bust also to attain a significant increase in their level of business performance. Moreover, the equity of the brand has commonly been studied from the perspective of big enterprises so there are few investigations focused in the analysis of these variables in small companies. This is why the objective of this empirical research is the analysis and discussion of the effects of equity of brand in business performance in small enterprises from a country with an emerging economy, as it is the case of Mexico. The results obtained show that equity brand in products and services of small enterprises have a positive, significant effect in the level of business performance.

Innovation Adoption in Mexican Small Family Firms

Innovation is a topic that has been widely analyzed and discussed in the literature of business and management sciences and there a far and wide consensus among scholars, researchers and professionals that innovation activities should be considered not only as a business strategy but also as a daily activity in enterprises, especially in small and medium-sized ones. However, a high percentage of theoretical and empirical published investigations have focused in the innovation activities of big enterprises while only a small percentage has analyzed this construct in small and medium-sized enterprises. Only a few of them have focused in small, family-owned enterprises even when this type of business is the most representative of the economy and society in country around the world. Therefore, the main goal of this empirical research is the analysis of adopting innovation activities in small, family-owned businesses in an emerging country, as it is the case of Mexico. The results obtained show that there is a clear adoption of innovation in products, processes and management systems from small family businesses.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Family and Non-Family SMEs in Mexico

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been practically oriented towards large companies, and few studies have analyzed this construct in a context of family businesses, but there are few studies that relate CSR in small and medium-sized enterprises Family businesses (SMEs) and non-family businesses. Therefore, this empirical study has the essential objective of analyzing CSR in a context of family and non-family SMEs in Mexico. The results show that CSR is exactly the same in both family SMEs and non-family SMEs in Mexico.