Search

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between hostile environment and business performance in 74 hand-craft businesses. The model tested assumes that the survival strategies used by craftsmen in order to face up to the social, economic and political hostile environment caused by the confrontation between the Governor Ulises Ruiz and the Popular Assembly of Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO ), modify the relationship between hostile environment and hand-craft business performance. A bivariate correlation analysis to test the relationship between hostile environment and performance, and a partial correlation to determine the effect of the survival strategies on such relationship were used. According to the results, the economic system crisis, regulatory pressures and corruption are significantly and negatively correlated with the performance of handcraft businesses. The three survival strategies used by the craftsmen, to counteract the effect of the hostile environment, are: social capital management, management of external relations and competitive behavior. These strategies ensure the decrease on the perception of the negative effect of the economic system crisis and the increase on the perception of profitability and growth in earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A structured survey was applied to 337 handcrafts firms in the Mexican Republic in order to analyze the effect of innovation on the relationship between manufacturing-competitiveness strategies and marketing-competitiveness strategies. The findings show that pricing is the most used marketing strategy and product quality is the most used manufacturing strategy. The findings also show that there is a positive and direct relation between manufacturing and marketing strategies and competitiveness. Innovation seen as a variable does not modify those relationships, but dimensional analysis shows the innovation effect on the relationship between opportunity cost, process flexibility, customer satisfaction, middleman services, firm prestige and advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this work is to analyze how the sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) is obtained by the SME's through their entrepreneurial and marketing capabilities and the organizational innovation. 49 hotel managers were surveyed in the states of Oaxaca and Puebla. In the results the marketing capability is strongly related to the organizational innovation and the SCA. In the hotel business there is a big interaction with consumers and they become a critical source of information in order to innovate which is reflected in the SCA. In this kind of businesses the consumers value the intangible actions that are provided by the marketing capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to find those innovation factors used by craftspeople, in eight states in the Mexican republic, that help them in policy making in demanding and globalization markets, facing a number of innovations in accelerated frequency. A gradual statistical selection was carried out, until achieving a possible causal model of product innovation that includes factors like: product differentiation, business and process knowledge, growth craftsman felt, product information and formal knowledge in administration. It was found that knowledge, besides being an external factor, as an internal factor for developing arts and crafts has a broad weight in innovation. Arts and crafts differentiation is a direct source of changes, improvements and new product implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a product development methodology for use with indigenous rural workers. It is based on the revival of cultural and social values, with a focus on the conservation of natural resources. Illustrated by the case of Mixtec craftswomen in Mexico, this paper shows how poor groups can improve their living conditions through innovation and the diversification of their products. The process combines techniques of product development based on marketing, with a participatory focus and continuous improvement, in order to develop a unique and high-quality product that can be more successfully marketed. The craftswomen are now able to plan their production and can evaluate and commercialise their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work is analyzed how the type of strategy employed, in function of the type of business and the years of business operation, explains the productivity level and the success of the small businesses of mezcal The results show that in this artisan area exist contextual variables with more heavy than the own of the formal organization of a business, like the member's education, the business's location and the training of the owner The initial investigation model is modified, but the marketing strategies, the productivity, the business type, the training and the education of the owner have a directly influence in the success of the business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]