Methodology for competitive association and quality management in Ecuadorian pymes

Small and medium-sized companies to which the literature has paid scant attention to date, but which nevertheless represent a high percentage of gross domestic product, and accumulate a large part of the employment generated in the main economies of the world, especially in Latin America , show difficulties such as: they do not have a structure of a consolidated institution, due largely to the lack of specific regulations that allow defining their characteristics, conditions and operationality in the economic and productive sphere; they need to perfect their quality management mechanisms in order to compete in the market, since the fact of being dispersed and with lack of credit financing, causes that they do not consolidate in their position and the majority does not manage to maintain itself. This research was aimed at developing a methodology based on the cooperation or associativity of small and medium enterprises. It has a set of phases and logical steps, and with its application it is expected results such as: a better participation in the national and international markets, the reduction of operating costs, the socio-economic development of the regions, the decrease in unemployment, a greater impact on the industrial policy of the country, as well as an improvement in quality management.