Abstract

CONTRERAS MONTELLANO, Óscar F.  and  GARCIA FUENTES, Maciel. Mexican Small and Medium Technological Enterprises: Regional Distribution and their Insertion into Global Value Chains. Región y sociedad [online]. 2019, vol.31, e1234. ISSN 2448-4849.  https://doi.org/10.22198/rys2019/31/1234.

This paper aims to present a characterization of Mexican small and medium technological enterprises, and to analyze the processes by which they inserted into higher value added segments in global value chains. The mixed methodology used includes the creation of a national directory, a sample survey, and conducting in-depth interviews. Results show the sectorial and geographic distribution of small and medium technological enterprises (82% are concentrated in 15 metropolitan areas with strong presence of multinational companies), and the mechanisms of acquisition of technological and managerial capacities which lead companies to compete in high value added segments. A limitation of this work derived from the still incipient analysis of the large database generated by the research on which it is based. The conclusions highlight two relevant findings: Mexican small and medium technological enterprises concentrate in regions with massive flows of foreign direct investment; and the mechanisms for the creation and upgrading of this type of companies are linked to knowledge spillovers from multinational companies and to the maturation of some regional innovation systems.

Keywords : small and medium Mexican technological enterprises; knowledge spillovers; global value chains; innovation systems.

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