Ricardo Arechavala

Resumen El proceso de internacionalización de pequeñas empresas de base tecnoló-gica (pymes BT) en Latinoamérica ha sido abordado sólo recientemente en la litera-tura especializada y poco se sabe aún de las semejanzas y diferencias que el proceso presenta en los países de la región. Las rutas de desarrollo que siguen las empresas tecnológicas en las economías emergentes son distintas de las de sus contrapartes de economías industrializadas y ello exige que sean indagadas de forma separada. Lati-noamérica forma parte de este universo de economías emergentes que ha adquirido protagonismo entre las pymes BT del mundo en varios sectores pero que sin embargo es necesario que sean sostenidas pública y privadamente de manera continua. La forma más eficaz de lograr mayor competitividad y mayores oportunidades en mercados internacionales es la de acceder al conocimiento nuevo de manera rápida y permanente y para ello las relaciones de colaboración o las redes inter-organizativas constituyen un medio idóneo. Las capacidades dinámicas de las empresas suponen en primer lugar el acceso a estos conocimientos sin los cuales no es posible sostener un proceso innovador sabiendo que el mismo afecta positivamente la competitividad de las empresas y su rendimiento internacional. El objetivo de esta investigación es documentar la utilización de las redes inter-organizativas por parte de las pymes BT latinoamericanas y considerar si impacta favorablemente en el proceso innovador y su éxito en los mercados internacionales. Se utiliza el método de estudios múltiples de caso, en esta etapa analizando comparativamente casos de México y de Argentina. Palabras-clave: Empresas de base tecnológica. Latinoamérica. México. Argentina. Gestión del conocimiento. Internacionalización. Abstract The internationalization process of small technology firms from Latin America has only recently been addressed in the specialized literature, and as yet little is known about the similarities and differences that it may have among countries in the region. Development paths that technology firms from emerging economies follow are different from those of their peers from industrialized economies, and they should be studied separately. Technology firms from several countries in Latin America are finding their way in global markets, but in many instances they need continued support from public and private organizations. Their competitiveness depends on their ability to expeditiously obtain new knowledge they need and, in order to do so, they build alliances and immerse themselves in inter organizational networks that provide them with such knowledge. Their international competitiveness depends critically on their ability to obtain knowledge that supports both their innovation efforts and the development of dynamic and innovation capabilities. The aim of this research is to study the processes through which technology firms from Latin America build the networks they need and the ways in which these networks affect their innovation performance and their ability to compete in global markets. In a first stage of an ongoing research program, we use a multiple case study methodology , comparing firms from Mexico and Argentina.

Results presented here are part of a research program that seeks to understand the relationships between investment in science and technology (S&T) and economic growth at an aggregate level in Latin America and North America, with particular emphasis in the Mexican case. Building on the basis of previous studies at both the micro and the macro level data that have been done in Europe, the United States and Canada, we build an econometric model that seeks to assess the impact of economic country-level investment in S&T on aggregate-level labour productivity measures.
Our aim is to contribute evidence for the case that S&T investment (as measured by GERD, or Gross Expenditure in Research and Development) has a quantifiable impact in total factor productivity and particularly on labour productivity for Latin American countries. This relationship has been extensively studied and documented, albeit with ambiguous results in most cases for other regions, but not for Latin America, where it has only received scant attention to date.
Our results establish statistically significant relationships in models presented for clustered groups of countries, with a significant effect of lagged variables that is consistent with findings by other authors in the field.

The paper presents an analysis of strategy development processes in research R&D centers, under restrictive and turbulent environmental conditions. Knowledge organizations in less developed economies have particular characteristics: high level professional personnel, unique and intensive work processes, high external resource dependence, and a high environmental uncertainty level. In this context, strategy development process is different from equivalent processes in other organizations. What kind of strategies do research and development centers develop in restrictive and turbulent contexts? Through which processes are strategies defined? Where in the organization is strategy shaped? How are strategies and organizational learning processes related? Theoretically, the analysis is done under the structuring theory and organizational learning perspective. Fieldwork comprises five intensive organizational case studies, which include content analysis of more than 150 semi-structured interviews with managers, research and engineering personnel, technicians and administrative workers. They also include an analysis of formal documents and fieldwork. Results show how different kinds of strategies are defined in R&D centers, and their relationship with organizational learning processes. Emphasis is made on the way strategy links environmental demands with internal resources and processes

Public research and development labs in Mexico are few and they have been created only in the last four decades. Little experience is available regarding successful organizational models, as well as best structure and processes in their design. Currently, the need for a research center on genomics and biodiversity has become increasingly important, and its design and creation is in

The Canadian Fuel Cell Cluster began its integration in the eighties in response to military intelligence policy recommendations, but its particular configuration and dynamics have been changing over time. This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of its development. Fieldwork was done through interviews conducted in 2005 and 2007-8. Results show some ways in which the role of the main actors, linkages and processes responsible for the cluster formation and evolution change over time. We provide a brief history of the fuel cell cluster and a description of its current characteristics and dynamics. We make particular reference to factors that they respond to, such as policies, market expectations, industry structure, and government economic support, for example, in order to explain the current cluster configuration as an open international innovation network, rather than as a local or regional one, a fact that challenges previous knowledge in this field.

The purpose of this study is to analyze those institutional arrangements that support the development of knowledge and innovation networks, particularly those that surround public R&D laboratories. Institutional arrangements include public policies as well as conditions that are necessary to build the proper kind of interactions among organizations. In Mexico, these processes are beginning to develop, in some cases with the support of regional-level policies. Internationally, different policy schemes have proven successful at the local and regional level. Policy development networks, where bottom-up and national and provincial directives interact, are being successfully implemented. In comparing the Mexican and Canadian experiences, some common characteristics can be identified that can lead to the development of adequate environments for innovation networks. Fieldwork reported here has consisted of organizational case studies of R&D laboratories in Mexico and Canada. These case studies include extensive documentation of organizational structure and practices, analysis of strategic planning documents and operating reports, as well as in-depth interviews with researchers, with higher management, and with representatives of organizations with which they interact. Interviews also include government agency officials and representatives of firms that have used or sought to use the laboratories' services. Networks studied include fuel cells technology, medical biotechnology, agro biotechnology, electro chemistry, metal mechanics and software industry, for example. The comparison of several innovation networks in Canada, which are more developed, with those that are beginning to develop in Mexico, enables the identification of viable alternatives for the design and implementation of policy initiatives for their development. Implications for further research and for policy design and implementation are discussed, particularly with respect to the role that R&- D labs can play in policy implementation.

... Claudia Díaz-Pérez, Ricardo Arechavala-Vargas, Alejandro Alarcón-Ozuna, América Ayala-Arriaga Universidad de Guadalajara, Zapopan, Jalisco, México ... The McFadden, Akaike and Shwarz criteria show that the model is adequate to the variables included, then it has ...

Mexico is known as the place of origin of maize in the world. Around 50 races and more than 400 varieties have been identified. For centuries, it has been one of the main sources of nutrients for the population. As genetically modified organisms (GMO's) have begun to gain salience as an economical alternative to grain shortage, social issues emerge that create increasing tensions with groups and non-governmental organizations (NGO's) that work for the protection of biodiversity, and for the preservation of traditions and culture. These tensions manifest themselves as opposition to the use of GMO's, and as the challenging of the role that multinational corporations play in the national economy. Among the general population, however, there is little knowledge about the possibilities, the risks and the economic impact of using GM seeds. The purpose of this research is to assess the outlook that corn producers have about the eventual use of GM seed in their farms, on the basis of a project that aims to characterize agricultural production units in different regions of the country, and to identify those variables that determine productivity, profitability and purchase decisions in maize-producing farms. Fieldwork was done in states that are considered to be representative of different patterns of technical and economic behavior in corn production through semi structured interviews with farmers and with representatives of producers' associations. The interviews assessed knowledge and attitudes towards technology and GMO's production patterns, and technical decision making in the farms. Secondary data analysis and time- series data were used to assess tendencies in economic variables and to monitor public opinion on issues related to GM corn production. Results point towards sharply stratified patterns of knowledge and opinion about GMO's that follow social and economic differences that are also deepening. Lower-level farmers tend to have no knowledge about hybrids a- nd GMO's, and tend also to follow unprofitable practices in their production units. At the other end we find high-level large-scale farms, with intensive patterns of production and use of technologically sophisticated inputs and machinery.